Thea and John, a Gardevoir and her Trainer
by BragelBite
Summary: "Love doesn't have a time or place. It always happens accidentally." This is the story of John and his shiny Kirlia on their adventure to conquer Hoenn's Pokemon league, and the relationship that they build. Can they overcome the judgments leveled at them and make some friends along the way? Gardevoir/Trainer shipping. No lemons here, although things can get a little heated.
1. Chapter 1

"Normal Text" is normal human speech, _"Italics"_ are telepathic speech, and **"bold Text"** represents translated verbal Pokemon speech.

* * *

John closed his eyes, stepping outside as the doors to the Pokemon Center slid shut behind him. He drew in a deep breath of the summer's warm fragrant air. Today was going to be a good day, he just knew it.

 _"...Excited?"_ He heard from within his thoughts. It wasn't so much that he could hear someone clearly talking, more like he just knew that the question was being asked.

He looked down at the Kirlia who had just telepathically spoken to him, and she looked back in return. She turned her big orange eyes upwards, a lock of blue hair falling out of the way. She smiled expectantly.

"Come on Thea!" John exclaimed as he gestured forwards, "How could I not be? Today's the day we finally get our first badge!"

Thea lifted a hand to her mouth and giggled quietly. _"I'm excited too. Let's try our best not to get too cocky, alright?"_

John laughed in response. "It's hilarious how you seem to think you're the mature one around here."

 _"I only think it because it's true."_ She shot back, offering a quick wink.

"Whatever you say, boss." He replied sarcastically.

The pair strolled through Mauville for a short while, admiring the hustle and bustle of the busy city. They had been out on the road for quite some time while they were training, so this was nice a change of pace. John's thoughts were interrupted when he felt something tugging on the sleeve of his jacket. Glancing downwards, he saw Thea looking shyly at the ground, pulling at him with one of her small hands to get his attention.

"What is it, Thea?" He asked, a little smile on his face thanks to her cuteness.

She hesitated, so he knelt down to be at eye level with her.

"It's okay, you can tell me." He assured.

 _"It's a little embarrassing, but that crossing up ahead looks pretty busy,"_ She pointed forwards, _"And... I was wondering if you could give me a ride through? Big crowds like that make me nervous."_

Without a second's thought John scooped the Kirlia up and placed her on his shoulders as she let out a quiet squeal of laughter in response.

 _"You could've given me a little warning!"_ She giggled, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Where's the fun in that?" He replied, flashing a toothy grin up at her.

 _"...Thanks John._ " She said sincerely.

They continued onwards on their journey towards the local gym. Thea loved riding on John's shoulders. She was only a little over two feet tall, so when she was perched on the neck of her sixteen year old trainer, she experienced a whole different world. Sometimes when she was up here she thought of all the other short pokemon as her minions or subjects. This always made her laugh. As the two passed flashy neon sign, Thea looked upwards, absentmindedly running her hands though John's hair. His short brown hair was soft to the touch, and she liked the smell of it. Upon realizing she had suddenly began massaging her trainer's scalp, she drew her hands back in surprise.

 _"Sorry!"_ She exclaimed, cheeks turning red.

"Hey, don't worry about it!" John replied, "Felt kinda nice, actually. Maybe just let me know next time?"

 _"Sure."_

Giving Thea a ride was almost as much fun for John as it was for her. She was very light and John, being in pretty good shape, was able to carry her almost without noticing. He had his hands on her slender legs to make sure she wouldn't fall off. Even if she did, he was pretty sure she would simply land on her feet thanks to how agile she had become ever since evolving. John was always impressed at how graceful she was, moving like a ballerina who had trained all her life with seemingly no effort. She also gotten really cute.

"Whoa!"

The pair turned to see a man with a camera staring at them, dumbfounded. "Is that shiny kirlia?" He asked, eyes wide.

"Sure is!" John replied, "Me and her have been training together for little over a year now. I don't know what I'd do without her!"

"Kirl!" Thea agreed, verbally. Her telepathic abilities had developed to the point where she could convey her thoughts to John shortly after she had evolved, but they had stopped growing after that. She could only communicate mentally with John, not any other humans or pokemon, and John still could not speak to her mentally as their connection seemingly only worked one way. The pair had decided they had developed this partial bond thanks to all the time they had spent together, through Thea was disappointed that she wasn't able to do more yet.

"You are so lucky!" The photographer exclaimed, "Could I take your picture?"

"For sure!" John replied, as he smiled into the camera, raising his eyebrows slightly. Thea closed one eye and stuck out her tongue in response as the man snapped the picture. As he handed the pair a copy of the photo, John chuckled. "The mature one. Right."

 _"Um,"_ The started, biting her lip, _"What time is it?"_

John looked at his watch. Then brought his arm down. Then brought it back up and did a double take.

"...Thea?"

 _"...yeah?"_

"I think I'm gonna need you to hold on tight."

With that said, John took off running as fast as he could, offering a quick and sorry wave to the photographer on his way by. Thea let out a squeal of laughter as she bounced up and down on John's shoulders, holding his head for dear life. The duo rushed through crowds, dodging bystanders, and ignoring all the shops they came across. Somehow, they arrived at Mauville city gym without incurring bodily harm to themselves or anyone else.

"We.. Haa... Actually... made it!" John exclaimed, panting.

 _"I can't see straight anymore. Please put me down."_ John took the kirlia in his hands and set her on the ground. She took three steps forwards and fell flat on her face. _"You shook me too much!"_ She growled telepathically.

"Can't... breathe..." John slumped against the side of the gym, attempting to catch his breath. Thea eventually crawled over beside him and also leaned against the building. The pair sat like that for a while, attempting to recover from sprinting halfway across the city. John lifted his watch and gazed at it fearfully.

"...Only forty minutes late." He sighed, looking sheepish.

Thea was about to offer some condolence when a large older man with a white beard sauntered up to the door without noticing them. She watched in confusion as he slowly withdrew a key from his pocket and stuck it in the gym's front door.

"...Wattson?" John asked, dumbfounded.

"Oh, hello!" The man exclaimed, flashing as huge grin as he offered a wave. "Are you two here to try for your badge?"

"Um, yes." John replied, still very confused.

"Wahahahahaha!" Wattson let out a hearty laugh, "Wow! I must say I admire your dedication! I would've never shown up twenty minutes before the gym even opened back when I was your age!"

 _"Twenty. Minutes. Early."_ John could feel the words echo throughout his head as his Kirlia's eyes narrowed behind him.

"But- I-" John stammered, "It's almost one o'clock!"

"Exactly." The gym leader replied, "It's Sunday! We don't open until one on Sundays! We get some Sundays where we don't get a single trainer show up! But I still make an effort to show up twenty minutes early."

John and Thea simply stared.

"Say..." The older man brought his hand up to his chin in thought, "You two look beat. Why don't you come in and I can get you something to drink? You might as well rest a little before we have our battle. It just wouldn't be the same if I beat you in this state. I'd rather beat you when you're at full strength!" He laughed again as he pushed the door open.

After John, Thea, and Wattson all shared some refreshments and a bit of conversation in the back room behind the gym's arena, they decided it was time.

"Say... that's a pretty fancy Kirlia you've got there, John. It's been a long time since I've seen a shiny at all!" Wattson complemented as they walked back towards the battleground, making Thea blush, "How long have you had her for?"

"Well her and I have been training for over a year, but she's been with me for as long as I can remember. She's my best friend." John replied warmly as he ruffled Thea's hair, causing her slap his hand away in response while she laughed.

"A bond like that can make for quite the asset in battle." Wattson said as he grinned, "I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do!"

By this time both John and the gym leader had reached the battling area. The floor was brown, looking to be dirt of some sort. Wattson stared at him from across the battleground with both enthusiasm and curiosity. John stared back with pure determination.

"You've got three Pokemon, right kid?" Wattson asked.

"You bet!" He shot back.

"Wahaha!" The old man laughed, "I like that attitude! Three against three, then!"

"Thea," John said, leaning down slightly, but now breaking eye contact with his opponent, "Do you want to start?"

 _"I'd love to."_ She replied as she nodded, _"I can't wait to teach these guys a lesson."_

With that, Thea jumped quickly forwards, twirling in midair. She landed in the center of her side of the battle area and began tapping her feet in anticipation.

"Leading with the Kirlia, huh?" The gym leader asked, pulling a pokeball out from behind his back, "Okay Magnemite, start us off!"

He threw the ball, which opened in midair, allowing a flash of red light to spill out. When it faded, the small electric pokemon hovered above the ground with it's single eye narrowed in Thea's direction.

Right as the fighting was about to begin, a referee ran out from seemingly nowhere.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, "What are you guys doing? You can't start the battle without a referee! It wouldn't be official!"

Wattson chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Oh. Right. I guess we got a little ahead of ourselves. I suppose I am early."

"Don't worry about it, boss." The man replied, lifting the whistle to his mouth, "I'm ready to get this show on the road! Let the battle begin!"

He blew the whistle, and the battle started.

"Magnemite, use thunder wave!" Wattson exclaimed, pointing forwards.

"Thea, go mobile! Dodge his attacks!" John yelled, knowing that Thea, while possessing hard-hitting attacks, couldn't take very many herself.

 **"I think you'll find your defeat quite... SHOCKING!"** The magnemite exclaimed as electricity built up around it's body. It released the energy in a wave towards the kirlia, who almost effortlessly front-flipped over the attack, avoiding all damage.

 **"Puns? Seriously?"** Thea sighed, continuing to tap her feet in anticipation of the next attack. The fight continued like this for a short while. Magnemite constantly attacking while Thea basically danced around him, dodging his attacks with grace.

"Magnemite!" Wattson hollered, "Switch it up, use tackle!"

"Thea, dodge it and counter with magical leaf!"

 **"The humor in this gym is pretty GROUNDED, don't you think?"** The magnemite laughed hysterically as it flew towards Thea with hopes of slamming it's body into hers.

 **"Oh my god you are so lame."** She groaned, bending over backwards to let him fly over her. As he passed by, she summoned several leaves coated in purple psychic energy and sent them flying towards her opponent. The attacks landed, knocking Magnemite to the floor and causing it to roll several times. It rose slowly off the ground, several scratches and scrapes showing on it's body.

"Try another thunder wave!" Wattson exclaimed.

"Thea, use confusion! Finish it off!" John exclaimed.

 **"This battle is getting me ELECTRIFIED!"** The electric pokemon screamed, launching another barrage of electricity at his opponent. It connected with the kirlia, shocking her very slightly, but doing almost no damage. Thea could still feel the electricity coursing through her veins. She knew being hit by that would come back to bite her later in the fight.

 **"My turn."** She growled as her eyes began to glow blue. A similar glow enveloped her opponent, and he was quickly lifted off the ground before being thrown up against the roof. He hit the ceiling with a loud crash and began to fall towards the ground. Before he landed, Thea caught him with her telekinesis and used it to speed up his descent, causing him to land incredibly hard, kicking up a large cloud of dust on impact. When the dust cleared, Magnemite was unconscious on the floor in a small crater.

"Magnemite is unable to battle!" The referee yelled, "Round one goes to the challenger!"

Thea hopped up and down excitedly from the victory. John let out a short cheer in response.

"Not too shabby!" Wattson exclaimed, recalling his pokemon as he cut the celebrations short. "But let's see if you can keep it up. Go! Voltorb!"

As the next electric type pokemon appeared before them, John noticed Thea was panting and that her posture hunched over slightly.

"Are you doing okay there, Thea?" John asked, his voice full of uncertainty, "Do you wanna take a break? I can throw Earl in for a bit."

 _"Um..."_ John felt the uncertainty ring through his head as he watched the bite her lip, _"As much as I'd like to take this guy down too, I'm going to need a short rest to keep fighting at full strength. Could you use someone else for this?"_

"No problem." John responded, "Thea, come back!" The kirlia hopped backwards off the field to stand at her trainer's side as he unclipped one of three pokeballs from his belt.

"Go, Earl!" He yelled, throwing the ball. A second later, a phanpy stood on the field, his eyes narrowed.

The two pokemon faced off on the field as the referee lifted the whistle to his lips.

"Round two, begin!"

"Earl, use defense curl!" John commanded. In response the phanpy took a more defensive stance with the hopes of taking less damage. Earl was not even close to as agile as Thea, so many more attacks would land on him.

"He doesn't have special attacks, so we'll just go full offense! Wahahahaha!" Wattson laughed, pointing forwards, "Use rollout!"

The voltorb stopped hovering and fell to the floor. Then it began to spin, rolling along the ground and picking up speed quickly. It connected with Earl, running him over. The phanpy rose quickly, but winced, showing signs of damage.

"Let's hit back!" John said as he clenched a fist at the end of his red jacket, "Use tackle!"

"Phan!" Earl growled, charging forward as quickly as he could and slamming his shoulder into the voltorb who was still trying to recover from the dizziness induced by using rollout. He knocked his opponent into the dirt, it rose again quickly, eager to continue fighting.

"Do it again!" John exclaimed, and the phanpy complied. He knocked Voltorb down again, and his foe began to show signs of wear. John grinned. Earl was tough, and he planned to use that to his advantage. He may have just weakened his opponent enough to gain the edge.

"Tackle!" John yelled, "One more time!"

"Fly over it!" Wattson yelled.

Earl charged and jumped upwards to land the finishing strike, but Voltorb hovered above his attack. The phanpy landed flat on his face in the dirt a few feet away, dazed.

"Use rollout!"

John watched in horror as the electric pokemon moved too fast for him to react. It picked up speed until it smashed into Earl, knocking him back nearly ten feet and causing him to faint.

"Earl is unable to battle! Wattson wins round two!" The referee exclaimed.

"Good try out there Earl!" John said, putting the fainted pokemon back in it's ball, "You'll get them next time."

He looked over at Thea and noticed that it looked like she had been wincing.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

 _"I'm fine."_ She replied as she gestured to Earl's pokeball, _"That just looked like it hurt."_

"Yeah, that Voltorb hits harder than I expected. It's pretty tough. But I think Oddball should be able to finish him off."

 _"Sounds like a good plan."_ He felt the words as she looked up at him, _"I'm here if you need me."_

He smiled down at her before locking eyes with Wattson once again. The old man looked like he had gained some confidence, but wasn't going to get cocky. He had been at this too long for that.

"Oddball, I choose you!" John announced, throwing the third pokeball from his belt. It released a small pidove, who looked around the arena in confusion before looking back at John.

"...Pi?" It asked, staring blankly at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

"What did he say?" John asked, raising an eyebrow.

 _"One moment."_ Thea sighed, turning away from her trainer and towards the small bird pokemon.

"Kirl! Kirlia, kirl!" She yelled, pointing at the voltorb. Oddball looked slowly from Thea to his opponent, then back at Thea, then finally back at Voltorb. He seemed to understand, refusing to take his eyes of his foe now.

"...He needed you to tell him who he was fighting, didn't he?" John asked.

 _"I'm not going to answer that. For his sake."_ Thea mentally sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration. This kind of thing happened often.

The referee blew his whistle.

"Round three, begin!"

"Rollout!" Wattson commanded immediately, hoping to catch John and his pidove off guard.

"Get into the Air Oddball!" John yelled quickly, "Avoid it!"

The pidove complied, beating it's wings so that it was high enough to avoid any attack coming from the ground. It soared above the Voltorb, giving a small tweeting laugh as it rolled by.

"Hit it with quick attack!" John yelled. Before Wattson could react, Oddball flew down, slashing Voltorb with his talons, knocking the spherical pokemon backwards. It floated back up, one eye closed in pain. This thing wouldn't be able to fight much longer.

"Thunder wave!" Wattson said. John could tell by his tone that he also knew that Voltorb would soon faint. The Voltorb launched an arc of electricity from it's own body to Oddball's, electrifying him in midair and sending him crashing to the ground thanks to a brief bit of paralysis.

"Now!" The gym leader grinned, "Use rollout! Don't let it get back into the sky!"

As Voltorb began to spin, John's thoughts raced. There wasn't time to fly out of the way again. He would have to improvise.

"Gust!" John exclaimed, trying to get the words out of his mouth as quickly as possible, "Use the wind to change his course so he doesn't hit you!"

As Voltorb raced towards Oddball, he beat his wings as hard as he could, creating enough wind to change his opponent's course enough that it missed him completely, slamming into a nearby wall instead. It slowly floated out from the hole it had created before falling to the floor, unconscious.

"Voltorb is unable to battle! Round three goes to the challenger!"

"Nice job, Oddball! That was awesome!" John exclaimed, beaming with pride. All that training had paid off.

"Pidove!" He replied. John looked quizzically down at Thea in response, hoping for a translation.

 _"...He wants to know when we're planning to get dinner."_ She deadpanned in his head.

"Keep your head in the game, Oddball!" John laughed, "We'll eat like kings after we win this battle, I promise!"

"After you win, huh?" Wattson grinned mischievously from across the battleground, "I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you, kiddo."

John raised an eyebrow, wondering what surprise the old man had in store.

"Besides, We gym leaders always save the best-"

He threw his final pokeball, and a huge Magneton materialized on the battlefield, cracking with electricity.

"-For last!" He finished, gesturing to his final pokemon.

 _"That thing looks pretty tough John, you might wanna play it safe."_ Thea warned as she looked at their final opponent. She concentrated on it, searching for anything that looked like it might be a weakness. Her thoughts were interrupted as the referee blew his whistle.

"Round four, begin!"

Thea went back to studying her foe from the sidelines when the magneton spoke.

 **"I think you'll find your defeat quite SHOCKING, little bird!"** It laughed, hovering up and down.

Thea's brow furrowed. **"Hey!"** She yelled, catching it's attention, **"Your friend already used that stupid pun!"**

 **"WHAT?!"** It roared, **"How dare he? I make the puns around here! I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL!"** The magneton growled, as the electrical energy coming off it doubled, making a few of Thea's hairs lift off her head. She could hear it crackling in the air.

"What did you do?" John exclaimed, a drop of sweat running down the side of his face, "That thing looks really angry. I think it's getting a power spike from all that rage."

 _"It's... way too stupid to explain, but suffice to say I may have made a mistake."_ She replied, eyes wide.

"Use magnet bomb!" Wattson commanded, "Show them what you can do!"

"Fly out of the way!" John yelled, "Dodge it!"

As Magneton changed it's attack Oddball... did nothing. He simply stood there, eyes wide, irises shrunken in fear.

"Oddball, What's wrong?" John asked as he began to panic, "Why aren't you-"

But that's when he noticed them. The thin jolts of electricity flashing all over his pidove's body. Oddball was paralyzed. He couldn't have moved no matter how much he wanted to.

 _"Goodbye Oddball."_ Thea said sadly, closing her eyes and placing a hand over her heart, _"We hardly knew ye."_

"Be serious." John sighed, trying his hardest not to chuckle.

 _"We're horrible. This really isn't something we should be joking about."_ She agreed.

Just as she finished telepathically talking to her trainer, Thea watched as Magneton launched a barrage of small steel balls that stuck to Oddball's body and began to glow blue.

"Pi...dove?" Oddball groaned, before the bombs went off. He was launched out of the explosion until he landed at John's feet, still smoking. It went without saying that he had fainted.

"Round four goes to the challenger!" The referee announced.

"Wahahahahaha!" Wattson laughed, hands on his belly. "Thought you had me there, huh? This old coot's got a few tricks left!"

John looked downwards at his only remaining pokemon. She said nothing, just looked up at him as her eyes blazed with determination and nodded quickly. She leaped forwards, locking eyes with the Magneton on the other side of the field. From behind her, John did the same thing to Wattson.

"What a battle this has turned out to be!" Wattson exclaimed, seeming to be thoroughly enjoying himself, "I must say I'm impressed."

John couldn't help but smile. He had earned the respect of this wise gym leader. Win or lose, he had made quite the accomplishment.

Without saying anything, Thea crossed the distance to the battleground in two quick leaps. She was ready.

"It all comes down to this! Let the final round... begin!" The referee exclaimed, looking quite invested in the fight even though he wasn't participating.

"Let's lead with magnet bomb!" Wattson's command echoed throughout the area as his pokemon began to build up the attack.

"Use confusion! Turn it upwards!" John barely got the words out before Thea's eyes glowed blue. She had been reading his emotions, trying to sense what move he wanted her to do before he told her to do it. She couldn't quite read his mind, but it helped her respond more quickly than most other pokemon.

As Magneton began to launch it's bombs, Thea used her psychic abilities to flip it backwards, causing the deadly orbs to fly upwards, sticking to the ceiling before exploding. As it missed it's attack, Thea retained her hold on her foe's body, and slammed him roughly into the ground for good measure.

 **"I'll make you regret that!"** It growled, floating back up and righting itself in the air. It shot a nasty three-eyed glare in her direction.

 **"You'd have to hit me first!"** She shot back, doing a quick ballerina twirl to taunt her opponent

"Thea, use double team! Let's switch things up!" John exclaimed.

She smiled to herself. She liked this one. She closed her eyes as they began to glow blue, forcing the thought that there were actually three Kirlias into her foe's mind, when she opened her eyes, the magneton believed it too. She could tell by the way it's eyes darted around, trying to discern which opponent was real. She and her doubles began to jump and dance around the arena, making themselves hard to keep track of.

"Now, while it's distracted, use magical leaf!" John exclaimed, hoping to capitalize on this advantage as much as he could.

The purple-coated leaves seemed to hit Magneton from every direction, confusing it even more as it as battered about. In reality, Kirlia had simply surrounded her opponent with leaves before actually using them to attack, to keep up the illusion.

"Enough of this!" Wattson growled, dropping his usually cheerful demeanor for a moment as things got close, "Use Shock wave!"

"Magical leaf again!" John said quickly.

Thea summoned another group of leaves as Magneton began to gather Electrical energy. The two launched their attacks at the same time, the leaves knocking Magneton into the dirt while the electricity shocked The and destroyed all of her doubles. The wave hit her hard, knocking her back onto her knees. She rose as quickly as she could, trying to show as little weakness as possible. The fact of the matter was that she wasn't sure she could take another hit like that and keep fighting.

"Okay, let's finish this!" Wattson yelled, the man was now visibly sweating, "Magnet bomb! One last time! Put everything you've got into it!"

As the magneton built up its ultimate attack, Thea and John locked eyes. It was a split second, but a spectrum of emotions passed through in that moment. Above all else, it was a look of understanding. Thea knew exactly what she had to do.

"Run straight at it." John said, in a voice far quieter than most of his commands.

Thea did just that. As her foe charged it's attack, she ran as fast as she could directly at the magneton. Just as it was ready to fire, she heard John's next order, but it was almost like she had already known what he was going to say.

"Slide underneath."

She dropped down just as Magneton began to fire. His eyes followed her downwards as she slid underneath, causing most of the bombs he shot to get stuck to the floor right underneath him.

"Confusion!" John yelled, face lighting up as he realized the plan was working, "Hold him down!"

Eyes glowing blue, Thea pushed the magneton to the floor just as it's three eyes shot wide open in realization of what was going to happen. She concentrated hard, holding her opponent right against the bombs it had just fired.

 **"NOOO-"** It roared as the small spheres began to glow. It's anger was cut off as they exploded, creating a massive cloud of smoke that nearly filled the whole arena and made it impossible for anyone to see what had happened. Both John and Wattson held their breath in anticipation. Mostly anticipation. Part of it was not wanting to breathe in any of the smoke. When the air finally cleared, it revealed Thea, hunched over and panting hard from her recent exertion, and Magneton covered in soot and ash, and completely unconscious.

"The final round goes to the challenger! John is victorious!"

John threw his hands up in the air and laughed as Thea ran back to him as quickly as she could. She jumped into his arms and hugged him around the neck as he spun her around in a circle. The pair was completely awestruck that they had managed to pull this off.

"That was incredible!" John exclaimed. "You did so good!"

Thea blushed, _"It was a team effort, but yes. I was pretty great."_

John laughed, his cheeks turning a little red, too. "Did you... read my mind?" He asked.

 _"I'm not sure. I've never done it before, so I'm not sure what it's really supposed to feel like. I certainly knew what you were planning, though. Maybe it's just a heat of battle thing?"_

He held her out at arm's length, one hand under both of her arms, to get a good look at her. She was a little scratched up, but the way she looked at him with those big orange eyes... and the way she smiled at him... He really didn't know what he would do without his shiny kirlia. So John pulled Thea into another tight hug.

"Whatever it was, it was amazing." She smiled up at him with her eyes closed as both her cheeks turned red.

In that moment, Thea found herself completely overcome with emotion. She knew that John's emotions were influencing hers, causing her happiness to be amplified, but her mind was almost cloudy. She couldn't focus on anything but her trainer. Well, that and the heat in her face.

 _"..John, I-"_ She began softly, but was interrupted as Wattson marched over, a massive grin on his face.

"Wow!" He said, giving John a hearty slap on the back, as Thea started to blush even more, refusing to make eye contact with her trainer, "I haven't had a fight like that in years! You two really are something else! Now, I hate to interrupt your celebrations, but I'm going to anyways. I believe we have some business to attend to?" He reached into his pocket and produced a small badge. He pressed it into John's hand.

John was speechless. Thea cleared her throat.

"The Dynamo badge." Wattson said, pointing to the small yellow pin, "Take it. We both know you've earned it. I'm gonna be rootin' for you, kid!"

"Thanks Wattson." John said back, beaming at his accomplishment. "I'd like to stay and chat for a while longer, but I hate to see my pokemon like this. I'm going to get them to the pokemon center as quick as I can."

Wattson's smile never faltered. "Hey, don't worry about it. I understand. Nothing better than a trainer who cares about their pokemon!"

As John left the gym and made off to heal his pokemon, he turned back to see the old man waving at him cheerfully. "I hope we meet again someday!" He exclaimed.

They walked for about five minutes as John basked in the afterglow of his victory, his Kirlia trailing a short ways behind him. Suddenly, he felt her words in his head.

 _"...Hey John, I'm going to be totally honest with you."_ Thea said, somehow mentally gasping, _"I can actually barely walk right now."_

John looked down in surprise to see that his kirlia had stopped moving about ten feet behind him. He rushed to her side. She had hunched over, and was breathing hard.

"Are you okay?" He asked,starting to pluck her pokeball from his belt, "Do you want to go in the ball?"

 _"No!"_ She exclaimed, raising a hand in defense, _"I hate that thing."_

"Do you want to ride on my shoulders again?" He asked.

She nodded, and so the pair set off towards the pokemon center. As they traveled at a much slower pace than before, Thea had time to think. What had she been thinking, almost saying that to John? Her feelings towards her trainer were... complicated. She thought he was the nicest person she had ever met, not once ever mistreating any of his team, especially not her. He kept her outside of her pokeball nearly all the time, and actually asked her for advice, something that was very rare for a trainer to ask of his pokemon. And she thought he was quite attractive. He was in very good shape. But he was a human, and she was a pokemon. This sort of thing didn't happen normally. In fact, a lot of people were pretty against it. And then there was the biggest problem of all. She wasn't sure if he felt the same way. She couldn't read his mind, at least not outside of certain high-adrenaline moments. She could only sense his emotions, and that didn't help her out much. If she told him about how she felt and he didn't feel the same way, it would destroy the bond they already had. It would ruin everything.

And so Thea decided her failed confession was a spur of the moment thing, and tried her best to put it out of her mind.

Forty-five minutes later, John left the pokemon center with all three of his pokemon trailing behind him in perfect health. He turned to them, feeling immense pride in the team he had put together so far.

"Okay guys, and Thea-" She giggled as he made an obvious glance towards her, "You all did great out there. I say that deserves a reward. So we're going to Mauville's market and I'll buy you whatever you want!"

Three cheers rose up as he finished speaking. They made their way to the market and John watched as Oddball picked out a bag of corn, Earl's eyes widened at an over-sized chocolate bar, and Thea levitated a bundle of oranges into her arms. He bought all three items without hesitation. He was even impressed at two of the healthy choices that were made. As for Earl's decision, John decided he would let it slide.

The group of four then spent the rest of the day exploring Mauville, taking in the sights, and shopping. The sun was already setting by the time they got back to the pokemon center, where they were staying. Pokemon centers everywhere offered free rooms for all trainers to stay in, as well as free breakfast in the mornings.

"Well, I'm beat." John sighed, closing the door behind him as his companions filed into the rooms. "Who's up for ordering a pizza and watching a movie?"

"Anything besides your cooking!" Thea taunted, hopping onto the bed. John just laughed. Cooking had never been his strong suit.

And so, John sat on the bed with Thea resting against his arm as the group ate pizza and watched a movie about a man with a Skorupi on his jacket. Thea found herself enjoying the first half of the film, but ended up covering her eyes for most of the second half. As the credits began to roll and the main character drove off into the night, John glanced over at Oddball, who was splayed out sleeping on top of Earl. The phanpy still had half a piece of pizza in his mouth, and was chewing on it in his sleep. John couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself.

His amusements was intensified as Thea cuddled up closer to him, nuzzling his neck. It tickled, and he laughed. She was talking softly in her sleep.

Too tired to make out what she was saying, he soon drifted off to sleep himself.


	2. Chapter 2

John awoke slowly to find Thea cuddled up to his chest, still sleeping. She was snoring softly with her face pressed down against his chest. He small chest slowly rose and fell with each soft breath. He glanced over to the digital clock that was perched on the nightstand beside his bed. It blinked out "10:12" in large red letters.

He should've been awake two hours ago.

"Thea." He whispered, knowing that he had to wake her up, but wanting to do it gently, "You've gotta get up. We slept in. We're supposed to leave for route 117 today."

"...Kirl." She said softly, pushing her face down.

"Please? Five more minutes, have mercy."

She pushed her face down a bit more, groaning slightly. After a few seconds, she lifted her face up and looked at him. Her hair was tousled and messy. Her normally brilliant tangerine eyes were half closed from just waking up. She looked adorable, topping it off by giving a tiny yawn.

 _"...Hey."_ Her felt her words for the first time that day. They felt groggy. He usually didn't speak to her like this. In fact, she didn't sleep in his bed all that often. It usually only happened after things like nightmares or traumatic experiences. That's not to say John was against it, in fact the opposite was true. He genuinely enjoyed the company. The main problem was that he felt like asking her to sleep in the bed with him all the time might be going a little too far for where the two of them stood at the moment.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked, offering a small smile.

 _"Really well, actually."_ She replied, giving a small nod, _"I honestly really enjoy-"_ She started speaking, but cut herself short when she realized that she still had both her arms wrapped around her trainer's chest. She looked down at them, then back up at John.

He chuckled nervously.

 _"...Right."_ She took her hands back and rolled off his chest. She moved about a foot away and knelt on the bed, looking over at him happily.

"...What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as she stared at him.

 _"We were pretty great yesterday, weren't we?"_ She asked, smiling at him.

"We sure were." He beamed back at her, "And we're only going to get stronger from here. I can't wait."

 _"So what's the plan for today?"_ She asked, hopping lightly off the bed and gracefully tip-toeing to the bathroom, grabbing a comb to fix her hair with.

"We're going to set off on Route 117 towards Verdanturf Town. From there I'm pretty sure we can get to Rustboro City, where we'll be able to go for our next badge!"

 _"So... walking, then. We're going to walk all day."_

"Chances are there be at least a few trainers to battle on the road." John replied as the kirlia finished with her hair, "I'm sure it won't be completely uneventful."

 _"Sounds good, then!"_ She exclaimed, _"Let's hit the road! As you humans say."_

"I like your attitude." John said, pointing at her from the bed, "But I still have to shower and stuff. I'll be quick. Can you do me a favor and wake the guys up for me?"

 _"But I already-"_

"Thanks!" John said, cutting her off as he shut the door to the bathroom. Almost instantly she heard the water running.

Thea groaned, turning to gaze at the two pokemon sleeping beside the bed. Deciding to get started, she quickly hopped over to them and prodded Oddball, who quickly woke up and began loudly squawking, starling the Kirlia and awakening Earl, who yelled out in surprise and lashed out, knocking the Pidove across the room.

Thea sat back on her haunches and sighed.

Ten minutes later John was dressed and the crew went downstairs to get something to eat. As the four sat a table eating a fairly unimpressive continental breakfast, Thea looked up at John. He was glaring down at a blueberry muffin as if it had personally insulted him for being mediocre.

 _"Hey."_ She said telepathically, quickly bringing a finger up to her lips to indicate that this was going to be a one-sided secret conversation.

He gave her a quick nod.

 _"So... about me sleeping in your bed..."_

He choked on his muffin.

She lifted a glass of orange juice to her lips in a relaxed manner as she spoke to him. She seemed to be doing it to try and appear confident, but It was obvious that this train of thought was making her nervous. Her eyes darted at him quickly every couple seconds before returning to scan the rest of the room.

He gave a small motion with his hand that essentially meant _Go on..._

 _"...I, well, I really liked it."_ She said, offering a small smile towards him as a faint redness crept onto her face. _"And, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to make it... like a regular thing?"_

Now it was John's turn to get red in the face. He barely even took half a second to consider anything before immediately nodding at her, giving a nervous smile.

She beamed back, clapping her tiny hands together twice. John tried to tell himself that he was mostly doing this for her benefit, but he knew that wasn't true.

John's thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Earl was slowly alternating between staring at him and staring Thea. John looked across the table at her, and cleared his throat to get her attention. Then he quickly gestured towards Earl. She had been staring at John, not noticing the phanpy clearly catching onto their little conversation.

Thea looked at Earl.

 **"...What are you guys talking about?"** He asked the kirlia, raising an eyebrow.

 **"Nothing. We're talking about nothing, actually."** She replied quickly, shooting him a threatening look. She glanced over at Oddball, but he seemed to have his big unblinking eyes transfixed on a lamp across the room. Pieces of bagel fell out of his mouth as he chewed absentmindedly.

 **"I don't believe that for a second."** He replied. **"I don't like these little secret conversations you two get to have. Doesn't seem fair."**

 **"Why don't you just mind your own business?"** She shot back, glaring at him. **"John and I are talking about some very important stuff right now."**

 **"Oh yeah? Like how you're always staring at him when he-"** He started, but was cut off as Thea interrupted him, face turning red.

 **"Why don't you shut up?"** She growled as Earl realized he had struck a nerve, **"You don't think this stuff is hard on me? You think I choose to feel like this?"**

 **"Thea-"** Earl started, shooting a quick glance at John.

 **"You have no idea what this is like. You don't know how complicated this is! I wish that I could-"**

"What are you guys talking about?" John asked, having idea what was going on.

 _"It's not really worth explaining."_ Thea responded, looking apologetic.

The group ate the rest of their mediocre in silence.

John made a quick stop at the Poke-Mart to stock up on supplies and then a half-hour later they were on the edge of the city. As John looked out over the route they were going to traverse, he noticed that it looked like it would be pretty easy going. The path was mostly small ponds with a few flower gardens. They could probably make it through to Verdanturf before the end of the day as long as they kept up a steady pace.

"Phan-Py?" Earl asked, looking up at him.

John glanced at Thea, hoping for a translation.

 _"He wants to know if he and Oddball can go on ahead of us. He apparently wants to explore."_

"Sure thing, buddy." John said as he smile, "Just try not to go too far, okay?"

His other two pokemon nodded in response before taking off. This left just John and Thea. She hopped up on his shoulders and the pair set out.

 _"We won't lose them."_ Thea assured, _"I can sense some of their emotions and where they are coming form. It's kinda like a tracking device."_

"That's neat." John said as the two stopped to examine a flowerbed. The beautiful plants swayed calmly in the wind, sporting an impressive range of colors. Thea plucked an orange chrysanthemum and placed it in her hair. John very much approved.

It was just a little past noon by now, and it was an absolutely beautiful day. There was a slight breeze, pushing the pleasant aromas of the flowers that surrounded them onto the path, causing everything around them to take on the same scent as the flowerbeds. The sky was clear, and it was as if they could see for miles in the distance. A flock of unidentifiable bird type pokemon flew overheard, squawking among themselves. The path itself was nice, soft, and worn, having been tread on by countless trainers in the past.

Eventually they caught up with Oddball and Earl, who had failed to find any of the adventure they had previously sought. The group traveled together for a while before coming to a friendly looking building.

"Pokemon daycare?" John read, raising an eyebrow at the sign, "Seems interesting, but we really should keep moving."

 _"Agreed."_

"Dove!"

They continued onward, passing a lot of pretty scenery and running into the odd friendly gardener, but no trainers. He noticed that it looked like Earl and Oddball were beginning to tire. The phanpy was dragging his feet, and as John watched, Oddball accidentally banked and flew directly into a tree. He fell back to the earth, dazed.

"Hey, do you guys want to go in you pokeballs for a bit?" John asked as he gestured to the orbs attached to his belt, "It'd be a lot easier than walking."

He got a pair of nods in response, and so he returned both his phanpy and his pidove to their pokeballs.

"They made it pretty far, actually." John said, looking up at Thea, who was still perched on his shoulders, "Considering they actually had to walk. I'm sure you aren't tired at all."

 _"Nope!"_ She replied cheerfully as she looked down at him, _"I feel great! I've been loving this trip so far. This road is so pretty."_

"It sure is something." John said, "They nearly got the whole way there. I'd say we're only about a half hour out of town at this point. And it's only four in the afternoon. We made great time!"

Thea was about to reply when she heard a voice call to them from behind.

"'Excuse me!" What sounded like a male voice call to them from the distance. They waited for a couple seconds and soon two peculiar figures emerged from the brush that surrounded the trail.

The first was a man, appearing to be in his early twenties, sporting a jovial grin. He was tall, with black hair and glasses. The clothing he wore wasn't anything remarkable, but he seemed to exude an aura of confidence. First impressions left John with a feeling that he was someone who carried a lot of experience. He didn't catch John and Thea's eyes nearly as much as his companion, though.

She looked to be about five feet tall, but she floated a little over a foot off the ground. They could only catch glimpses of her slender legs, hidden beneath an elegant white dress that was constantly being blown about by the wind. Her chest was adorned with a red horn-like protrusion that looked almost as id it were piercing her. She had green hair that swept neatly around the edges of her face, which seemed to end in a trio of points on either side of her face. A pair of red eyes shone towards John and Thea with intelligence while she offered a warm little smile to them with thin lips.

Neither Thea nor John had ever seen a Gardevoir before.

"Hey." The man said, offering a handshake. "I'm Duncan."

John took his hand and shook it, still awestruck at his pokemon. "John."

"Nice to meet you, John." He replied, never dropping his smile. He gestured to the Gardevoir floating behind him, "This is Elysium."

She offered a small bow in response.

 _"It's a pleasure to meet both of you."_ Her voice rang through both John and Thea's heads, clear as a bell, and with a posh British accent. It was as if someone had actually spoken to them. This was not the telepathy that Thea was able to do. This was on a whole different level.

"...How did you..." John said, unable to believe what had just happened.

 _"Surprised?"_ She asked, cocking her head to one side slightly as her smile grew a little.

 _"Ask her how she-"_ Thea started.

 _"Comes with Experience, you could say."_ Elysium responded, cutting her off. She gave a quiet giggle to herself.

Duncan laughed. "This is great. I swear every time we meet any trainer with a psychic pokemon, the same thing thing happens. She's pretty great, huh?"

"She can read minds?" John asked, staring at Elysium, who was floating at eye level with him.

"Oh, buddy, she can do way more than that." He said with a smile, "But I didn't come over here to waste your time and show off for no reason. I actually came to ask if I could borrow a pokeball."

"You... what?"

"Yeah, It's a little embarrassing. A guy like me, you'd figure I'd stock up, right?" He scratched the back of his neck, "But it's been a long time since I've needed to catch anything. A Roselia in the bush over there caught my eye, and I was gonna go after her, but then... well, you can figure out the rest."

John looked at Duncan, then at the Gardevoir, then back at Duncan. He had no idea Thea would be able to get this powerful. He had no idea she would get so... beautiful, either. The thought of it filled him with-

"So whaddya say?" Duncan asked, looking at him expectantly. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, there was so much this man could tell him. But he seemed to be in a rush.

"Uh... yeah sure." She dug a pokeball out of his bag and placed it in Duncan's palm. The man beamed.

"By the way, what's her name?" He asked, looking up past him at Thea, who was still perched on his shoulders.

 _"I'm Thea."_ She tried to say, but John was the only one who heard her. Her brow furrowed in frustration.

"Her name is Thea." John said.

"That's a nice name." He said, before looking up at her with an understanding gaze, "Keep trying. You'll get it eventually. It's hard, I know. Well I guess I don't personally, but she does." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Elysium who had begun to float away, apparently bored with the conversation.

Thea smiled her thanks at him.

"Anyways, John." He turned his gaze back down on the younger trainer. "Thanks for the pokeball. You seem like a pretty swell guy. I'm hoping we meet again some day."

With that, he turned and began to walk away, Elysium floating beside him. She turned and offered a small wave.

 _"Tell them to stop."_ The said, sounding determined.

"What?" John asked, "Why?"

 _"I want to fight her. You should challenge him to a battle."_

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" John asked, he looked forward and noticed Elysium had stopped floating away and was simply staring forwards.

 _"Think about what I could learn. She's everything I could be! I want to see it firsthand."_

"If you say so." John said. "Hey, Duncan!" He called.

The man turned around and plodded back over. "What's up?"

"I'm challenging you to a battle!" He exclaimed, "Since you're a trainer, you can't say no. One on one. Elysium against Thea."

Duncan looked at John like he had just grown a second head. "I mean, you're right. I can't say no, but I can give you a little piece of advice. This might not be a good idea on your part. You're out of your league here, man. Me and Elysium have been at this a lot longer than the two of you."

Duncan cocked his head towards the Gardevoir as he spoke, who closed her eyes and nodded once in agreement.

"Doesn't matter." John replied, "Thea wants to, so that's what we're going to do."

Duncan's features went from confusion back to his usual smile. "Alright then. I guess it's hard to say no to the missus, huh? Follow me. There's a clearing up ahead."

John and Thea followed behind their opponents as they led them towards where the battle would take place. Each looked closely at their counterpart, attempting to gauge what they should expect for the coming battle. John watched as Duncan swaggered along, looking anything but worried about the match that was about to take place. He paid his own Pokemon little mind, instead gazing around at the scenery that surrounded them. Meanwhile, Thea stared at Elysium, who simply floated along beside her trainer, gaze fixed forward. Her manner of travel gave off the distinct impression that she was above the world around her, like she couldn't even be compared to beings who walked on the dirt.

A couple moments later, John stared across a grassy clearing at his newest opponent. He was acutely aware that they were probably far stronger than he was, but this was what Thea wanted, so this was what they were going to do.

"Last chance, man." Duncan called, "You can still back out."

John glanced down at Thea. She looked back and nodded. Her eyes were narrow slightly, filled with determination. He didn't need psychic powers to know she wasn't going to change her mind.

"Nope!" He yelled back, "We're sure about this."

"Suit yourself." Duncan muttered, giving a nod to Elysium. She floated down to the battlefield and hovered above the ground, practically exuding grace.

"Ready?" he asked.

 _"Ready."_ Thea said.

"Ready." John confirmed.

 _"Apologies in advance, Thea."_ Elysium's voice rang through Thea's head once again. She took a step back, then shook it off. It was time to fight, not time to talk.

"Thea, Use magical leaf!" She heard John call from behind her. She summoned the leaves to her command as both her opponent and the opposing trainer did absolutely nothing. Deciding to capitalize on this, she sent the attack forward as quickly as she could, hoping to deal some damage early in the fight.

Elysium simply stood there, allowing the attack to hit her with full force. She reacted like she had just been given a needle at the doctor. A slight wince, that was all.

 _"No way."_ Thea gasped, _"I've never seen anyone take a hit like that without at least getting knocked down! What is she made of?"_

John was at a loss for words. Chances were, they were in for the ass kicking of their lives.

"Psychic." Duncan's said. He didn't seem to be taking any pleasure in the battle so far. He almost hadn't spoken loud enough for anyone to hear.

Elysium's psychic powers took hold of the kirlia within an instant, throwing her roughly across the field. She skidded to the ground and forced herself back onto her feet. She promised herself she wouldn't be beaten that easily.

"Try confusion!" John called, his voice beginning to lose it's edge.

Thea's eyes began to give off a blue light as she grabbed the Gardevoir with her telekinesis. She tried to throw her back, but her foe wouldn't budge.

 _"That wont work on me, sorry."_ There was no taunting in Elysium's voice, she was simply stating facts.

 _"Wha-"_ Thea started, but was cut off as her opponent spoke once more.

 _"My levitation is currently stronger than your telekinesis."_ She said, sounding slightly disappointed, _"That will change as you grow more powerful, but for now..."_

 _"...My strongest attack won't affect you at all."_ Thea finished.

"What's going on?" John asked, "Why didn't that work?"

 _"Let's not get into it right now."_ Thea growled, _"Suffice to say that confusion is a no-go for this battle. We're going to have to try something else."_

"Alright." John muttered, "Use double team!"

Thea closed her eyes. She forced the thought that she had a pair of identical doubles into Elysium's mind. She was relieved when she realized it was working, as the Gardevoir's red eyes slowly moved from three distinct locations. She was distracted. Now was her chance.

"Magical leaf!" John exclaimed, pointing forwards, "Put everything you've got into it!"

Thea launched a barrage of attacks that used every ounce of power she could muster.

"Teleport." Duncan said.

In an instant, Elysium blinked out of existence, then reappeared several to the left.

"Moon blast."

Thea's jaw dropped as an orb of pink energy grew in front of her opponent's outstretched hand. She could feel the power it radiated from her position ten feet away.

As the attack flew towards her, Thea realized that Elysium had known which of her doubles was real the entire time. She hadn't hesitated at all when she was taking aim with the orb. The blast connected with the earth at Thea's feet, exploding and launching her backwards as smoke trailed from her body. She landed roughly on her shoulder and rolled a few times before coming to a stop.

"Thea!" John yelled in shock.

Slowly, she pushed herself back up with one eye closed in pain. She took a shaky step forwards and looked towards Elysium who had begun to float over towards her. She had a hand outstretched, as if she was offering help.

Weakly, and without John's command, she summoned a single magical leaf and sent it flying towards the Gardevoir. It nicked her shoulder and bounced off, getting stuck in the trunk of a nearby tree. She gave no reaction.

Thea chuckled and coughed once. Her face was twisted into a shaky smile through a set of gritted teeth.

 **"You must think I'm pathetic."** She breathed out loud.

Elysium looked at her with a mixture of pity and surprise, eyes widening.

 **"Pathetic?"** The Gardevoir said, speaking out loud for the first time. Her actual voice had the same accent as her mental one. **"I don't think that at all. I think you're brave. Maybe a little foolish, but you are still young. I was much like you when I was a Kirlia. I had a lot to prove."**

The Kirlia looked up at Elysium as her one open eye widened.

 **"Your bravery will make you incredibly powerful one day. It was truly an honor to meet you, Thea."**

Elysium took a step back and sang. As the notes reached Thea's ears, she lost her grip on consciousness, and sank to the ground.

"I guess that's it, then." Duncan said to John as the trainer rushed over to his fallen kirlia. There was no celebration. This wasn't a battle that Duncan felt good about winning.

"What did you do?" John asked, examining his pokemon.

 _"Disarming voice. A fairy-type attack."_ Elysium said, gesturing towards Thea's crumpled form.

John picked Thea up gently, examining her wounds. She was beaten, battered, and unconscious, but she didn't seem to be in any critical danger. Regardless, he felt the overwhelming need to get her to a pokemon center.

"Look." Duncan said, plodding over slowly. He sheepishly continued, "We feel really bad about doing this."

"You-" John started.

"We want to make it up to you. Seriously. I'll tell you what, You're going to the pokemon center, right?"

"Um, yes." John replied, shooting a quick glance down at the pokemon in his arms.

"Well once you're done healing her, hang around the center for a bit. Elysium and I will meet you there, and we'll buy you and Thea lunch."

John was uncertain. This wasn't common for trainers to do.

 _"Please?"_ Elysium asked.

"Okay sure." John sighed, turning to leave, "I'll wait in the center for you guys."

"One more thing." Duncan said, taking the pokeball out of his pocket and handing it to John. "It wouldn't be right for us to beat you into the dirt and also steal your stuff. I'll buy my own in town."

"...Thanks." He said, raising an eyebrow as he pocketed the ball.

With that, John turned and rushed off towards Verdanturf, cradling Thea's battered body in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Apologies for the delay. Real life happens, I guess. I hope this chapter can make up for the wait.

* * *

The pokemon center's doors flew open as John rushed inside, cradling Thea's small and vulnerable form in his arms. As the nurse behind the counter saw him come in, he noticed that the building seemed to be totally empty except for employees.

"How can I help you?" Nurse Joy questioned as the trainer approached the counter.

"She needs... healing." He gasped out. A cardio workout maybe wouldn't be the worst idea for John. He seemed to be doing quite a lot of running these days.

"Why isn't she in her pokeball?" The nurse questioned, "It is a poor idea to keep fainted pokemon out in the open. They could get hurt."

"Right." John sighed, "Thing is, she hates it. I don't know why, but she's very against being in the ball."

"Hm." She replied, "Well, I suppose that's fine. We can give her healing without having her in the ball, if you would prefer that."

"That would be great, thanks." John replied, smiling for the first time in a short while.

As a chansey wheeled out a stretcher and John gently placed Thea on top of it, Nurse Joy spoke once again.

"It's obvious that you care about you pokemon quite a lot." Now it was her turn to smile, "That's very refreshing to see. There are lots of trainers who seem to neglect their pokemon."

"I try my best." John replied, scratching the back of his head as he watched Thea disappear into the back of the building.

"You can just have a seat out here." She said as she gestured towards the multitude of seats available in the lobby, "Shouldn't be more than twenty minutes or so."

With that, she left to tend to John's kirlia.

John found himself with some time to think. First of all, he thought of Duncan and Elysium, and how he and Thea had fared so poorly against them. Duncan hadn't lied when he said they were out of his league, It was like they didn't even try. But it offered John a little bit of perspective. He had always considered himself to be a pretty good trainer, but it looked like he still had a long way to go. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It seemed like his journey was just beginning.

His thoughts then drifted to Elysium specifically. She had been magnificent, that much was certain. And despite her immense power, she had been courteous when she could have just as easily been disregarding towards her weaker opponent.

John wondered how Thea would eventually look as a gardevoir. The two of them would make an incredible team, there wasn't a bit of doubt in his mind about that.

"John?" The nurse called, "You can come back now, she should be waking up soon."

As the trainer made his way to the back of the building, Nurse Joy stopped him in front of the door to Thea's room.

"You know, it's strange." She said, looking John directly in the eyes.

"What is?" He asked, beginning to feel a little nervous.

"It's something I see very rarely." She said, "After all these years on the job, I've picked up the ability to tell how badly a pokemon had been knocked out. Most come in pretty badly fainted, but your kirlia..."

She hesitated, looking down at the ground.

"Whoever defeated her used nearly the exact amount of force require to cause her to lose consciousness, and we're talking about decimals here."

John's eyes widened.

"Either you're incredibly lucky," She started as she looked back up at him with a worried expression, "Or whoever did this had the power and control to do far, far worse to her... and simply chose not to."

John pushed past her, grabbing the doorknob.

"I suppose you're lucky either way." She concluded.

"Thanks." John replied, shutting the door behind him.

Thea was laying in the bed that seemed to dominate most of the room, leaving only a little space for the chair that sat at her bedside.

John sat.

She was sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and falling with small and gentle breaths every few seconds. The cuts, scrapes, and bruises that had adorned her before were all gone now. It seemed like the nurse had done her job well. As he watched her sleep, John realized something.

He felt terrible.

Even though it was obvious that she was going to be totally fine, he still felt that this was mostly his fault for a agreeing to let her go into a fight like that. She'd never stood a chance against a foe like Elysium. Maybe he wasn't as good to his pokemon as he thought. Maybe he-

 _"Hey John."_

Startled by the feeling of another presence in his mind, John jumped slightly before quickly turning his gaze towards the bed. It seemed Thea was awake, as she was looking up at him with curiosity.

 _"What's wrong?"_ She asked as her gaze softened, _"I'm going to be okay, don't worry."_

"Nothing's wrong." John Lied, "I'm just happy you're alright."

 _"You can't lie to me,"_ She stated, "S _o tell me what's bugging you."_

John sighed. It was true. Since she could sense his emotions, unless he totally believed what he was saying, she could tell.

"I just-" He started before clearing his throat and continuing, "I just feel bad about sending you into a battle like that. We were both outmatched."

She gave a small giggle in return.

 _"That's what's bothering you?"_ She asked.

John nodded.

 _"Well you shouldn't be worried about me."_ She smiled, _"Actually, I'm grateful. I may have lost, but I've set a goal for myself. Someday I'm going to be just as strong as her."_

"Wow." John breathed, "It seems you managed to find a rival before I did."

 _"Yeah... I guess I have."_

The two sat in silence for a few moments, simply enjoying the peace and quiet, as well as each other's company.

 _"John?"_

"Yeah?"

 _"Can we go get something to eat? I'm starving."_

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go."

The pair made their way to the lobby of the pokemon center. When they arrived in the doorway they found it still mostly empty, save a peculiar duo sitting on a couple of chairs by the entrance. One was a tall man with glasses who sat and looked around the room with boredom, while the other was a gardevoir who had her face buried in a fashion magazine.

This surprised Thea for several reasons.

 _"What are they doing here?"_ She asked, spotting their previous opponents.

"Oh." John said, "Right. I forgot to tell you. Duncan said that he wants to buy us lunch as an apology for beating us so badly."

 _"That's... an odd thing for a trainer to do, right?"_

"Yeah, it's pretty strange. But I'm short on cash these days, and the two of them really seemed to have their minds set on it. Is that alright with you?"

The considered this for a moment.

 _"I suppose so. Let's get to it, then."_

With that, they stepped out of the doorway and into the lobby as Duncan and Elysium noticed them instantly.

"John!" Duncan exclaimed as he stood up, "It's good to see you. Thea, you're feeling well, I take it?"

 _"I am."_

"She is." John translated, throwing a quick sympathetic glance down at his pokemon.

"Well." Duncan said, clapping his hands together, "Let's go get food, then."

He glanced over at Elysium.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

 _"It's nearly two in the afternoon, Duncan."_ Elysium laughed quietly, and her voice was heard by all three of them, _"We're all hungry."_

The four of them left the pokemon center as John once again expressed his thanks to Nurse Joy. Duncan and John walked in front, while Thea and Elysium trailed a short distance behind.

"So, where are we going?" John asked, glancing over towards Duncan. The man seemed to have a spring in his step. He smiled, glancing around and taking in the sights.

"The best joint in town!" He replied as he turned to beam at John, "Although I may be biased. It's called Terry's. A buddy of mine from way back owns it. Nobody fries up a steak like Terry, I'll tell you what."

"Sounds good." John said as they continued walking.

As they journeyed onward, they couldn't seem to keep up a very steady pace. Duncan seemed to be stopping every thirty feet to wave at someone or point something out. Elysium didn't seem to mind.

"Wow." John sighed, "You sure seem to know a lot about Verdanturf. Do you guys come her often?"

Duncan chuckled.

"Not anymore, but I spent a lot of time in this town. I grew up here, see?" He gestured around at their surroundings, "I don't visit as much as I should, though. Elysium and I were just in town to visit my parents. We were on our way out when we ran into you guys."

"Interesting." John said, "I've never met anybody from around here before."

"Well this is what we're like." Duncan said, gesturing to his chest before speaking again, "I'm kidding. People here are close-minded and reserved. At least hey are for the most part until you get to know them. That's part of the reason why we don't live here anymore. Although it's more about the close-mindedness."

John's eyebrows furrowed.

"You don't seem like the kind of guy to bothered by something like that."

Duncan looked away quickly.

"You'd be surprised."

About ten feet behind them, Thea and Elysium were having a conversation of their own.

 _"So how long have you and John been together?"_ Elysium asked telepathically, her voice ringing clearly through Thea's head.

Thea looked up at Elysium who was levitating about half a foot off the ground. She didn't seem to fly as high when she wasn't near Duncan and wasn't trying to match his height.

 _"We've been training together for a little over a year now-"_ The formed the words in her mind and then realized that she didn't know how to send them to anyone but John, _"-You can hear me, right?"_

 _"Yes."_ Elysium said, " _I can read your thoughts, so if you think of words I'll be able to hear them. Or-"_

The gardevoir opened her mouth and spoke verbally.

 **"We can simply converse out loud if you would prefer."**

 **"I'd like that, thanks."** This new development pleased Thea. She had never spoken out loud to another member of her species before.

 **"You've never spoken to a Gardevoir before?"** Elysium glanced down quizzically.

 **"Well... no."** Thea said, becoming a little embarrassed that this thought had been pulled from her, **"While John and I have only been trainer and pokemon for about a year, we've been... friends, since he was six or seven years old."**

 **"That explains the strength of the bond I sensed between you two."** Elysium gave a small smile, **"You're lucky. Duncan found me shortly after he started his journey. It took a long time for us to develop into what we are now."**

 **"But about you not knowing anyone in our evolution line..."** The gardevoir trailed off, curious, but unsure as to what the best way the phrase the question would be.

 **"When I was young- well- it's hard to remember much from back then, but I can't remember my parents. At all. John's father found me in the woods outside his family's home and took me in. I was just a ralts at the time, and I was just happy to have somebody I could call a friend. I... remember being alone for a long time before they took me in."**

 **"I'm sorry Thea,"** Elysium said, talking quickly in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, **"I overstepped my boundaries, that was none of my-"**

 **"No, it's okay!"** She replied, **"It's actually quite nice to have somebody to talk about these things with. I can't really... speak to John. Not like you can with Duncan."**

Elysium didn't reply. She gazed off into space, apparently lost in thought.

 **"So,"** Thea started, hoping to have one of her many questions answered, **"When did you gain the ability to communicate like that?"**

Elysium thought for a second.

 **"It was after I evolved into my final form. A couple months later, I think. That was years ago, though. To be honest, before I met you I had forgotten how far I've come. Speaking telepathically has become second nature to me, as I'm sure it will one day be for you."**

 **"I can't wait to evolve."** Thea said suddenly, **"I'll finally be able to do all the things I want. It'll be so-"**

 **"Do not rush it."** Elysium's tone had turned deadly serious in an instant. Thea turned to face her gaze.

 **"Do nor rush into your evolution. You'll regret it. I've seen pokemon who's trainers rush them into evolving... and it's too much power for them to handle. They hurt others. They hurt themselves. Their minds become warped."**

Thea's mind became full of a multitude of images. Charizards destroying entire forests, Gengars tearing their opponents minds to shreds completely by accident, Machamps crushing those they cared for because they didn't know their own strength.

 **"Are these... your memories?"** Thea asked, her eyes growing wide.

 **"They are. I'm showing them to you because I need you to understand."**

Elysium stopped floating and knelt down so that she was only taller than Thea by the smallest amount. She placed a three-fingered hand on the kirlia's shoulder.

 **"John is a good trainer, and a good person. I'm a mind reader, so my judgements on things like this are typically quite sound. "** Her gaze was intense, but there was a warmness to it. **"I'm certain that he won't rush you, but you must be certain not to rush yourself. Let your evolution happen. Do not force it to happen. You'll be far happier this way."**

Thea nodded. She hadn't expected advice like this.

 **"And,"** Elysium added as an afterthought as she shot a wide smile in Thea's direction, **"You'll be far more powerful, too."**

John looked back to see Elysium kneeling on the ground in front of Thea, speaking intensely to her as his pokemon seemed to absorb every word.

"Whats- uh-" He tapped Duncan's shoulder and gestured over his own shoulder with a thumb, "What's going on back there?"

Duncan turned around listened for a seconds before giving a shrug.

"Dunno. I don't speak Pokemon. Probably a heart-to-heart of some kind. Girl stuff, y'know?"

"Girl stuff." John chuckled, "Right."

After another ten minutes of walking and the group arrived at the restaurant. It was a quaint establishment that was a little on the small side, giving it a cozy feel. A large purple neon sign above the door shouted the name of the bar and grill to all who passed by, or rather, it would have, had it not been turned off during the day. Things seemed a tad slow for Terry's at two in the afternoon. This wasn't exactly rush hour.

"This place is cool!" John exclaimed.

"Right?" Duncan said, happy to have the approval.

John motioned quickly for Thea to come over to him. She did. He slowly pulled a pokeball out of his pocket. It looked older than the other two that were clipped to his belt, and the kirlia's brow furrowed the second she laid eyes on it.

 _"John."_ She warned, _"No. I am not-"_

"I'm sorry Thea, but this is a human restaurant. I don't like this any more than you do, but people usually think it's rude if-"

He was interrupted when Duncan looked over and witnessed the exchange.

"Does Thea like being in her pokeball?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well..." John started, shooting a quick glance down at the pokemon glaring up at him, "No. She hates it, actually."

Duncan laughed and looked over at Elysium who smiled back a him.

"It's the same with Elysium. I think it's a pretty common thing among gardevoirs and the like."

John looked between his two new companions. Duncan seemed to have no intention of recalling Elysium.

"So.." John started awkwardly, "Are you gonna.."

"Nah." Duncan said, "I know it's outside the norm for people to dine with pokemon outside restaurants that specifically cater to this kind of thing, but Terry's an old friend. We'll be fine."

Thea smiled with relief as they entered the building.

 **"So, have you tried any human food before?"** Elysium asked as they approached the hostess.

 **"Not really."** She replied, **"I really like oranges, but I've never been to a place like this."**

Elysium surprised Thea by quickly clapping her hands together in excitement and giving a small squeal, breaking her usual semi-stoic attitude.

 **"This is so exciting!"** She exclaimed, **"I can't wait to see what you think of it. Human food is very interesting. I'll help you pick out what's good."**

Thea smiled up at her. Elysium seemed incredibly familiar with human customs for a pokemon. The question was, how far did her interest go?

"Table for four, please." Duncan said smiling at the hostess as he leaned on her podium slightly. She was young, looking no older than twenty-five, with sweeping blonde hair and green eyes. At the man's words, they narrowed.

"Four, huh?" She asked, shooting a very obvious glance at Elysium, who had floated over to Duncan's side. The Pokemon smiled at her.

"Will... it-" She put a lot of emphasis on the last word, "-be dining with you as well?"

Neither Duncan nor Elysium seemed to react to this, but Thea noticed that while his smile never faltered, his eyebrows came down very slightly. This had comment bothered him, that much was for certain. Elysium's expression remained friendly.

"Okay," Duncan started, his tone anything but hostile, "You're new here, I get it. I know that because I've been eating here for like fifteen years."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"So, first of all, it-" He put an equal amount of force into that last word, "-is a she. Her name is Elysium, and yes, to answer your question, she will."

The hostess opened her mouth to retort, but Duncan cut her off.

"And second, I'd like to speak to your manager."

She looked worried instantly.

"I'm not sure that's-"

"Could you just go into the back and get Terry for me please?" He asked, his voice becoming a little cold, "Tell him Duncan's here."

She seemed to consider her options for a split seconds before turning on her heel and departing for the back of the restaurant without another word, heels clicking as she went.

John coughed.

 _"Well, that was... super awkward."_ Thea said to john as she glanced around.

 _"Right?"_ Elysium answered, injecting herself into the conversation.

Both John and Thea looked at her in surprise. This type of thing would take some getting used to, that was for sure.

"Sorry about that." Duncan said apologetically, "I don't know her. The normal hostess usually doesn't give us any trouble."

"You've been eating here for fifteen years?" John asked.

"I guess. I'm twenty-two, and I first ate here with my parents when I was seven. My dad was friends with Terry's dad, so I was friends with Terry, too. Terry has since taken over the family business-"

Duncan stopped talking as the door to the kitchen opened.

"Speak of the devil." He said.

Terry was a big man. He nearly six and a half feet tall, and built like a brick house. He couldn't be older than Duncan by more than five or six years, and was sporting a well-trimmed beard. He had on an apron that looked to have a wide variety of stains on it that he had attempted to wash out, but the marks still showed. The hostess trailed behind him, the small woman nearly completely obscured by his massive form.

He stopped in front of Duncan, staring at the man with a pair of cold blue eyes. He slowly looked at Elysium, then back at Duncan. His expression was unreadable.

"Terry." Duncan said, clearing his throat and scratching the back of his head, "Long time no see."

The big man crossed his arms, which were thick like tree trunks. When he spoke, his voice was a deep growl.

"It's been two years..."

Duncan's eyes darted around nervously.

"Right, yeah. I know that- I just figured-"

"You just come into my restaurant after two years..." His expression hardened slightly.

Duncan began talking quickly.

"Listen, Terry, buddy, I'm sorry- I know I said that I'd try to keep in touch but-"

"You come in here, into my establishment, after two years..."

Duncan fell silent.

"And you don't even say hello?"

In an instant, Terry's eyes widened, and his mouth split into a huge grin. He moved a massive hand and gave Duncan a hearty slap on the back, nearly knocking him over. The huge man laughed.

"I got you, didn't I?" He said, wiping a tear from his eye.

Duncan found this a little less funny, but still found himself laughing.

"You big lug! You scared the hell outta me!" He exclaimed, looking up at someone he was talking to for once.

"Is that Elysium?" Terry asked, locking eyes with the gardevoir.

 _"The one and only."_ She replied. He rushed forwards and crushed her in a hug. It lifted her off the ground, but she didn't seem to mind.

"You look great!" He exclaimed, looking up and down Elysium's slender form. She blushed slightly as he continued, "And you too Duncan, did you get new glasses?"

"No, actually." He replied, smiling.

John and Thea watched this exchange with unmatched confusion. They had never seen friends greet each other like this. The hostess stood awkwardly a couple feet away. She had clearly not been expecting the confrontation to play out this way.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of having my two friends over?" Terry asked, looking at to pair in front of him.

"Well, we were hoping to not starve to death." Duncan replied as he grinned, "Figured you could help with that. Oh and I brought a couple friends. I wanted to show them the best place in town."

Seeming to notice them for the first time, Terry plodded over to John and Thea. He held out a hand and John took it. He tried not to let the man know that it felt like every bone in his hand was being crushed.

"I'm Terry." He said, "I run this place. Me and Duncan go way back, so any friend of his is a friend of mine!"

"Name's John." He replied as he pulled his hand back and flexed his fingers in an attempt to gain some feeling back, "This is Thea."

Terry waved down at the kirlia as he towered over her. She waved back timidly.

"Nice to meet you, Thea. Never seen a kirlia with blue hair before. You must be pretty special."

Duncan cleared his throat.

"So... food?"

"Food." Terry agreed, gesturing for them to follow him into the restaurant. As they passed the hostess on the way by, she tapped one of Terry's massive shoulders to get his attention.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Sir, it's just that..." She trailed off, unsure how best to phrase her question, "...Are you really going to let pokemon eat in the restaurant?"

Terry smiled at her.

"They aren't pokemon to me." He said, "Duncan and Elysium are like family. I'll make an exception for them. And their friends, too. Besides, it's not like they're bringing a muk and a koffing to the table with them. These pokemon are civilized."

"Right." She replied, knowing better than to question her boss, "Of course."

With that, Terry led them to a nice booth by a window overlooking the beautiful mountains that surrounded the town. The group had great food and great company, so the meal as a whole was fantastic. They left about an hour later, with everyone feeling very content as Terry waved to them from the entrance.

"Don't be a stranger!" He called. They laughed.

 _"John, we need to buy soda."_ Thea said, grinning up at him, _"I want to drink soda every day."_

John chuckled.

"You'd get fat." He teased.

 _"Why would I get fat?"_ She asked.

"Soda makes you fat."

 _"SODA MAKES YOU FAT?"_

Elysium covered her laughter with one hand while Duncan made no attempt not to laugh at the conversation.

"How can you hear her?" John asked, turning his gaze towards the pair.

 _"I can hear her thoughts, and I'm translating for Duncan."_ Thea assured as they continued to walk aimlessly.

As they sauntered around Verdanturf without a care in the world, Elysium stopped floating and began walking beside Duncan, her tiny feet gracefully moving her forwards at a steady pace. Eventually, she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, allowing him to guide her through the town.

 _"That was... nice."_ She said, letting out a gentle purr into his shoulder.

"I think so." He agreed, talking softly as John and Thea were distracted behind them, "It was the least we could do. You did beat Thea into the dirt, after all."

 _"Oh come now, that's an exaggeration. You know I tried my absolute best not to hurt her."_ She feigned hurt, but he could tell she was only joking.

"What should we do now?" He asked, nodding at a passerby who shot the pair a quick glance.

 _"We could take them to see the mountains. It's such an excellent view."_

"That's a great idea." He agreed, "I'm going to need to turn around now, though."

She giggled.

 _"Maybe I wont let you."_ She opened her eyes and shot him a mischievous look, her lips pulling upwards into a smile.

He chuckled, "Oh yeah?"

 _"I could keep you trapped here like this until the end of time, but I'm choosing not to. Next time I may not be so lenient."_

"Right." Duncan chuckles as Elysium released him and began floating by his side again, "Thanks."

"Hey, Johnny boy!" Duncan called, turning around and continuing to walk backwards, "There's these great mountains on the edge of town! I'd be honored if you and Thea would accompany-"

"Gal-lade!"

Duncan's eyes shot wide open as he heard the pokemon call from about twenty feet away. The group turned to see a man walking towards them, accompanied by the gallade who had just called to them.

Thea could feel a lot of emotions coming off Duncan at this point. None of them were positive.

 **"Elysium, what's wrong with Duncan? I can sense-"**

 **"That was a mating call."** Elysium whispered quickly, **"You and John need to stay quiet. Let us handle this."**

Thea nodded.

 _"John, we need to be quiet and stay out of this. It's important."_

"Okay." John said, trusting Thea's judgement on this matter.

By the time they were done talking, the gallade and his trainer had reached the group. The gallade was a specimen. The muscles on his arms rippled as he approached, but his eyes seemed slightly glazed over. They were transfixed on Elysium, not taking in any surroundings at all.

"Heya." The trainer said, greeting Duncan. The man had barely shot a glance in the gardevoir's direction. He looked to be about eighteen years old, wearing a ball cap and a yellow t-shirt.

"Hi." Duncan replied, smiling. It looked honest, but Thea knew how to read people. It couldn't have been more forced.

"That's a nice gardevoir you've got there." He said, looking at her seriously for the first time. She stared back at him, her expression neutral.

"Yep." Duncan replied, "Her name's Elysium."

"Fancy." The trainer said, before sighing, "Look, man. I'm just gonna skip right to business. My gallade here is in heat. He can't concentrate, and because of that, he can't fight. He caught, uh, Elseum's-"

"Elysium." Duncan corrected, smile faltering slightly.

"Right. Sure. Anyways, he caught her scent. And I was just wondering if you could do me a favor and let him, like, get his beak wet? That way he and I can get back to kicking ass."

Duncan swallowed, seeming to think this proposition over for a second. Thea hadn't felt so much anger, displeasure, and indignation before in her life. Elysium's expression was still neutral. The gallade raised and lowered his eyebrows at her.

"Well." Duncan started, pushing his glasses up onto his face, "I'll tell you that it doesn't really matter to me."

This couldn't have been a bigger lie, that much Thea could tell.

"But, I figure we should ask Elysium, seeing as how it is her... body-" He put an incredible amount of emphasis on that last word, "-and it should probably be her decision."

The trainer seemed confused by this line of thought.

"Why does it matter? She's your pokemon, right? Doesn't she do what you say?"

Thea felt a flash of nearly white-hot anger from both Duncan and Elysium. There was a good chance this was going to get ugly.

"Elysium?" Duncan asked, getting her attention as he completely ignored the person offering him this new proposition. He clearly had her attention long before he asked, but he seemed to be putting on a show anyways.

She nodded in response.

"So, this fine gentleman," He gestured to the gallade, who flexed in response, "Is wondering if you would like to have sex with him."

She seemed to really mull this over for a few moments, Lifting a hand to her chin as she hummed quietly to herself. Thea couldn't tell what she was thinking, her psychic powers weren't strong enough to sense the emotions of someone so powerful.

The gallade flashed her a smile.

That was when she noticed it. The thin, nearly invisible blue glow had had begun to appear around the gallade's head, and the identical glow beginning to be given off by Elysium's recently narrowed eyes.

 _"John, I think it would be a good idea for us to maybe take a step back."_ Thea cautioned, as she and John took a deliberate step backwards.

Just as they finished moving, Elysium gained a firm grip her admirer's head and slammed it forcefully into the concrete they were standing on. It cracked as his face connected and he let out a cry of surprise and pain.

"What the hell!?" The trainer yelled out in shock as Duncan approached him, hands in his pockets, flashing him a grin that couldn't have been more fake.

"So, I guess that's a no, huh?" He said, putting an arm around his shoulders.

The gallade groaned and began to push himself back up, but Elysium took hold of his skull once more and slammed his head into the ground. She did this again when he tried to rise once more. Gallades were tough, so he would surely survive damage like this, but that wouldn't make it any less painful.

Duncan spoke up again as Elysium continued her assault on the other pokemon.

"Women, huh?" He laughed and turned to stare directly into the other trainer's eyes, which had begun to widen in fear, "Can't live with 'em," Duncan's eyes hardened into a hate-filled glare, "Can't get 'em to have meaningless sex with you for no reason whenever you want. Try as we might, I don't think we'll ever understand them!"

The trainer broke away from him, taking a couple panicked steps back. Elysium had begun to grit her teeth, and she showed no signs of letting up the beating she was dishing out. This wasn't a pokemon battle. This was punishment.

"Elysium." Duncan said simply, and his words seemed to reach her. Her attacks gradually lost ferocity over the next couple seconds before she released her hold on the other pokemon. He had fainted, it was nothing a pokemon center and some rest couldn't fix.

 _"I. Am not. Property."_ The gardevoir's words rang through the minds of every human and pokemon standing within ten feet. The young man in the ball cap looked at her with unbridled fear. Quickly, he recalled his defeated pokemon and turned on his heel, running away as quickly as he could.

"See you around!" Duncan called with faux friendliness as he offered a sarcastic wave, "Good luck with getting laid, or whatever!"

Both Duncan and Elysium stood in silence for about thirty seconds. Thea and John glanced at each other quickly, unsure what to think. Had this been going too far?

 _"Are you... alright?"_ Elysium asked, turning to look at the man who stood beside her.

He gave a bitter laugh. Her expression became one of worry.

 _"Duncan..."_

"Are you kidding?" He asked, turning towards her, "Of course I'm good! Nothing happened to me. Everything happened to you! I should be asking you that!"

 _"You know me."_ She replied with assurance, _"It takes far more than that to affect me."_

"Of course." Duncan sighed, looking at her sadly, "It's just... I can't stand stuff like that, y'know?"

 _"I do."_ The gardevoir assured, _"I really appreciate your concern."_

"Does this kind of thing happen often?" John asked, looking worriedly at Thea.

"More often than never, sadly." Duncan replied, "I think it's mostly because..." He trailed off, shooting a worried glance at Elysium.

 _"I, um, I like to..."_ She trailed off, looking to Duncan for support, he nodded at her.

 _"I like to wear perfume."_ She stated before clarifying, _"Human perfume."_

"Oh." John said simply, trying to act like like this all wasn't very strange to him.

"Right, well." Duncan started, his usually cheerful demeanor had faded and now he just looked tired. Elysium was looking like she wanted to spend the rest of the day sleeping. It was clear the recent turn of events had soured both their moods significantly.

 _"Maybe it would be smart for us to go. They look like they could use some time alone."_ Thea said, looking up at John. He nodded in response.

"Me and Thea should probably get going." John said as Duncan's eyebrows raised slightly, "We need to make it to rusturf tunnel before sundown."

"Yeah, sure." Duncan said, mouthing a silent 'thank you' as he paused, "But we can at least walk you to the edge of town."

"Okay, thanks." John said back as the group departed.

As they walked, Thea had a single question burning in her mind. She decided that now was the time to ask, seeing as how one of the only beings able to answer it for her would soon be leaving.

 _"Elysium?"_ She thought the word very hard, and was relieved when the gardevoir's head turned in her direction.

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Do you... ever go into heat?"_

Her face flushed red as she heard Thea's question. She looked away quickly.

 _"Well... yes, I do. Most pokemon go into some form of heat when they are in their final forms of evolution, although there are exceptions to this rule. It happens to me in the spring, once a year."_

Thea looked forward, lost in thought for a second.

 _"What do you.. do?"_

Elysium glanced down at Thea, her eyes darting around nervously.

 _"I'm not sure what you mean."_

 _"I mean... what do you and Duncan do, when it happens? How do you solve the problem?"_

The gardevoir cleared her throat and looked away.

 _"We... manage."_ Elysium said simply, focusing intently on a statue on the other side of the street.

 _"...What does that-"_

The gardevoir whipped her head around to stare Thea right in her eyes. She face might have actually been expelling heat.

 _"Thea, I know that this question is important to you for obvious reasons, but I'd really rather not talk about it if that's okay with you."_

 _"Okay, I'm sorry for prying."_

 _"...I appreciate it."_

By this time they were nearly at the edge of town, and the path that would lead to the tunnels. Duncan shook John's hand, giving him a genuine smile.

"Thanks for spending some time with us. I wish you could've stayed longer. It was really nice to get to know the two of you."

"Likewise." John replied, "I'm sure we'll run into each other again, at some point."

 _"I'm counting on it."_ Elysium said, in a tone that seemed completely sure.

Elysium wrapped Thea into a hug, lifting her off the ground.

 **"Take care of him, Thea."** She whispered into the kirlia's ear.

 **"I will."** Thea replied.

And so, with their two newest friends waving goodbye to them, Thea hopped onto John's shoulders, and the pair set off towards the rusturf tunnels.


	4. Chapter 4

"The tunnel's closed."

"The tunnel's what!?" John exclaimed, eyes widening.

"I said the tunnel's closed, kid." The worker replied through his mustache. He regarded John with an aloof look as he leaned on his shovel. The hot sun beat down on all those in the area, and he removed his hard hat to wipe the sweat from his brow before replacing it atop his head.

John sighed in disappointment, his shoulders sloping. Thea sat on a rock a short distance away, out of earshot of the conversation. She was watching several Butterfree flying around a nearby tree, seemingly enjoying herself.

"Where were you headed?" The man asked, noticing John's downcast attitude.

"Me and my Pokemon were on our way to Rustboro City to battle the gym leader there." John replied.

"That's a real shame." The worker replied as he winced, "This is the only route to Rustboro from Verdanturf. If you still want to get there, you'll have to take the long way around, through Mauville City and Oldale Town."

"You've gotta be kidding me." John groaned.

"Sorry to break it to you kid." The man continued, "This cave in only happened three days ago. Some goons snuck into the tunnel and stole eggs from the Onix who live here. It drove them into a frenzy and they caused so much commotion that some sections of the tunnel ended up collapsing."

John's brow furrowed. He's never heard of anyone stealing Pokemon eggs before, but the thought of it made him feel quite indignant. It was the type of action that he would never consider doing himself, and certainly couldn't condone.

"Any idea who did it?" He asked.

The worker looked both ways as if to check if anyone was listening, and then leaned in closer to John, like he was about to disclose some private information.

"Well I've heard rumors that some thugs from a group calling themselves 'Team Magma' are the ones who did it, but nobody has any proof it was actually them."

"Interesting. I can't say I've heard of them before, though." John replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I hadn't before this, either." He wiped his brow again and put his hand on his chin, as if thinking.

John found himself fuming. Not only had this "Team Magma" completely inconvenienced his entire Pokemon League journey, but they had also cruelly stolen the young of innocent wild Pokemon. Whoever these people were, he hoped to one day meet them so he could-

His train of thought was interrupted as the worker he had been speaking to placed a burly hand on his shoulder.

"Hey kid, you're a Pokemon trainer, right?"

John nodded in response, taken a little off guard.

"Well, make me a promise. If you ever cross path with the hoodlums who pulled this stunt, give 'em a good whack for me and my crew, okay? Repairing this tunnel is going to take weeks, and we're stuck in the hottest season of the year."

"Sure." John smiled, "You got it."

The man took at step back and gave a thumbs up, coupled with a toothy grin.

"And good luck on all your adventures kiddo!"

"Thanks!" John replied as the worker turned to walk away, "Good luck with the excavation!"

As his conversation finished, John made his way back to where Thea had been sitting. He chuckled under his breath upon reaching her. She was no longer observing other Pokemon, but was now splayed out on her back, eyes closed as she reveled in the hot sun. Her mouth was open in a content smile, and her small chest rose and fell with cute little breaths. Her blue hair hung down over the side rock. She looked as if she was in her own little world.

"What are you, a Meowth? Didn't know you were so into sunbathing." John asked, laughing as he crouched down beside her.

 _"John!"_ She telepathically exclaimed, shooting up in surprise to look at him with an with her big orange eyes, a faint pink blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. She averted her gaze immediately after, looking at the ground rather than at her trainer.

 _"I was just appreciating the weather, sorry."_

"Don't be!" John replied with a smile, "You were pretty cute enjoying yourself there in the sunbeam."

Her blush doubled in it's intensity and she scrunched up her mouth in response, continuing to refuse to look at John. It seemed that a small patch of grass out of the lower right corner of her eye was far more interesting than her trainer as her gaze seemed totally fixed on it.

John made a mental note to tease her far more often.

 _"So... what did you find out?"_ John heard the words in his head. She was clearly attempting to get down to the matter at hand.

John sighed.

"Well Thea, it's mostly bad news." He said regretfully.

The Kirlia's face became far more serious in response, the blush dissipating almost completely as now looked at him directly.

 _"What's up?"_

"Well it seems like some criminals went into the tunnel a few days ago and stole the eggs from the Onix who live there. They ended up getting so mad that they caused a cave in."

 _"That's horrible!"_ Thea exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Yeah, it really sucks. And since we can't use the tunnel, we're gonna have to take a really long alternate route to fight Roxanne in Rustboro City. It'll probably take us a while to get there."

The appeared to be in thought for a few seconds before her features softened. John had little to no idea how she was going to take the news.

"Well, what do you think?" John asked, scratching the back of his head.

 _"I think the situation with the Onix is terrible."_ She started, _"But I'm not too broken up about the detour."_

John blinked, "And why is that?"

 _"Well,"_ She looked at him, _"You and I will be traveling together, right?"_

"Um, yeah." He replied.

 _"As long as that's our situation, I'll be happy."_ She said, closing her eyes and giving him a big smile.

For once, John was at a loss for words. It seemed that he truly had the perfect companion.

"Y'know what? Same here." He said, returning her smile.

He scooped her up and placed her on his shoulders as she laughed.

 _"Okay!"_

She slapped the top of his head with one hand and pointed forward with the other.

 _"Mush!"_

And with that, the duo set off on the longest detour of their lives.

Days passed as John and his party traveled. It wasn't long before they were in Mauville City once again.

John coughed as a large city bus belched a large cloud of smoke right in front of him. It was midday, and buildings covered in neon signs stretched as far as he could see. As he and his group moved to cross the street with a large group of people, a businessman ran past John, bumping into him and nearly knocking him over. He righted himself and quickly glanced to make sure his Pokemon were alright.

"Y'know, this place kinda loses a bit of its charm once you've been here once already." He groaned.

Oddball and Earl nodded in response, as Thea held a hand over her mouth, with one eye closed. He could tell that this visit would quite likely be on the shorter side.

"John!" Wattson exclaimed when he saw the doors open, "I didn't expect you back so soon!"

"Neither did I." John admitted, chuckling. "We ended up getting turned around. Rusterf Tunnel was caved in."

"Shame." Wattson said, "Was the journey a complete waste, then?"

"Well, not exactly. We met some... friends along the way. Well, more like rivals, I guess you could say."

"Well then it wasn't a waste at all!" The gym leader exclaimed, "Finding a rival is a nearly integral part of any Pokemon adventure! Journeys just aren't the same without them!"

John and Thea laughed. Both the Phanpy and Pidove got busy making themselves comfortable in the lobby while the pair chatted with the older man.

"So what are they like?" He asked.

"Well the trainer is a guy who's older than me by about four years, which is a pretty big experience gap."

"What's he got for Pokemon? How many?" Wattson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just one. A Gardevoir. She's crazy strong." John responded.

Wattson's eyes widened before he broke into a hearty laugh.

"Wahahaha!"

"What's so funny about that?" John asked, despite laughing a little himself. Such a jovial personality was highly infectious.

"I'm just impressed with how large of a goal you've decided to set for yourself! To say this guy has a head start on you would be an understatement. You think you can catch up?"

John looked at Thea, who nodded back at him. He looked at the gym leader with determined eyes.

"I'm sure we can."

"Well I must say I admire your ambition. Still, It's pretty ironic that you managed to find another trainer like you. Gardevoir are quite rare. You don't see many trainers with them. You're the first I'd had in my gym in a long time."

"Really?" John asked. He knew Thea was special, but he didn't know that Gardevoir as a species were overly rare.

"Well, you almost never see a Gardevoir in the wild, and Ralts are not at all common. They're hard to train, too. Lots of trainers end up giving up on them before they really form a bond and mature."

"I wasn't aware of that." John said, casting a questioning glance at the Kirlia standing beside him.

 _"What makes you think I would know any of this? It's not like I have a textbook for own species. I can't even remember my parents, you know that."_ She replied, her tone slightly cold.

"Anyways, I'm sure you're gonna knock it out of the park." Wattson said, "I've seen you and your little gang in action, don't forget!"

John smiled at the compliment, but found himself asking questions. Why had Duncan, some random Pokemon trainer, been able to outclass him and Thea by such a huge degree when he had been able to overcome a licensed gym leader? Had Duncan taken on the gym leaders at some point in his life? Did he beat them? Had he only used one Pokemon to do it, like he did now? Was something like that even possible? What was he doing nowadays, if he was so powerful? He didn't seem driven by a particular desire back when they had seen each other before.

John realized that his time spent with his so called "rival" had created many more questions than it had answered.

After a little more chatting, Duncan and his crew left Mauville City's gym and, after grabbing a bite to eat, set off towards Route 110, the cycling road. After renting a bike, it wasn't long before John was flying down the cycling road, wind blowing though both his hair and the hair of the Kirlia sitting in the bicycle basket on the front of his handlebars. John laughed as Thea held onto the sides with an iron grip, teeth clenched and eyes wide with fear.

 _"John, when I get out this basket I'm going to kill you! I swear!"_

"This was your idea!" He laughed, "You begged me to rent the bike with the basket!"

 _"That was because I wasn't expecting you to be doing mach one for the entire ride!"_ She snarled back, letting out a little scream as John rounded a particularly sharp corner.

Showing mercy, John heavily reduced his speed for the second half of the trip, and the pair were able to enjoy the scenery on display along the road without one of them fearing for their lives.

With their travels on the bike track finished, the group had nearly reached Oldale town. The only thing standing in their way was route 103.

John decided that it would be best to let all his Pokemon run free on a nice scenic route like this one, so he walked along the path as both Phanpy and Thea plodded along beside him, while Oddball flew a short distance ahead. The path was pretty much a straight passage, flanked by heavy trees on one side and large, heavy reaching rocks on the other. Noticing a slight chill in the air, John pulled his gaze away from where his Phanpy had begun rooting around in to dirt to realize that nearly the entire day had passed. The sun would soon be setting. It would be wise to try and get to Oldale before night actually set in.

Oddball suddenly returned, squawking excitedly at both his trainer and fellow Pokemon team.

"What's he saying?" John asked, looking at Thea.

Her expression soured in an instant as she translated the bird Pokemon's message.

 _"He says that the road ahead is blocked by water. That there's no way we'll be able to cross it."_

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." John growled, doubling his pace as his eyes narrowed.

Sure enough, it was true. At the end of the path, there was a sizeable river that was far too deep and wide to cross safely by swimming. Rocks had been placed to create a calm section in the middle, and while that may have been an improvement, it didn't help John's situation in the slightest.

John let out a deep sigh. He seemed to be faced with setback after setback as of late.

"I hate to say it guys, but it looks like we're gonna have to go back the way we came. I'll put you back in your Pokeballs, so it wont be too bad, don't worry." He offered a little smile to his team.

John may have been putting on a brave face, but Thea could easily sense the defeat and disappointment that her trainer was feeling. She found herself wishing she could do something to help.

"You wanna cross that river?"

John whipped around to see who had spoken. In his haste to see the river, he hadn't noticed that a stranger had been sitting on a large rock near the river's edge. He couldn't make out much the features, but the voice definitely sounded male, and he could tell from the silhouette that the person was wearing some kind of long scarf or headband, which was blowing in the wind.

"That would be great, yes." He replied, a hint of caution in his voice.

The stranger jumped down off the rocks and walked until he was facing John, standing at the center of the river, with the setting sun behind him. He looked to be about the same age as John, with long blonde hair and a set of piercing blue eyes. He stood confidently in a black hoodie and grey sweatpants, a pair of skateboard shoes adorning his feet. His most striking feature, however, was the red scarf he wore around his neck. It seemed to be almost too long, with ends that had been frayed from wear. They flowed in a glorious fashion against the backdrop of the brilliantly orange setting sun, almost giving him the look of a fictional character from an anime or video game.

"I'm Chase! You can call me 'The Red Dragon'!" He exclaimed as he pointed an outstretched finger at John, "And I'll take you across that river if you can defeat me in a Pokemon battle!"

John grinned. It had been too long since he and his team had some good action.

"Okay, you're on. My name's John." He replied as he locked eyes with his opponent, "What's the plan?"

"Two against two. Right here. One Pokemon at a time." The Red Dragon replied, producing a Pokeball and a Great Ball from the pocket of his hoodie and pointing down at the spot where they were standing.

John gave a quick nod, and with that the battle began.

"Go, Edward!" Chase yelled, underhand throwing the Pokeball from his hand as a Machop emerged from it, throwing up a cloud of smoke and it hit the ground, striking a martial arts pose.

"Machop!" It growled, flexing its biceps.

 _"John, let me take this guy."_ John felt Thea's words ring through his mind as he sized up his opponent's Pokemon, _"Psychic type Pokemon heavily counter fighting types."_

She was right, but John had a hunch that the other trainer was hiding a much more powerful Pokemon inside that Great Ball. He decided to save Thea, his strongest, to go up against whatever Chase had up his sleeve.

"That's not a bad idea, but I think this guy is hiding something big after his starter. I'll save you for then, just in case."

 _"Okay, if that's what you think is best."_ She replied, willing to put her trust in her trainer.

John nodded before turning to Earl and pointing at him.

"You got this Earl. I choose you."

"Phan!" He responded, puffing out his chest and running towards the Machop standing in front of Chase.

"You ready?" John asked, looking towards his opponent.

"Yeah. Bring it!" The Red Dragon exclaimed, throwing his arms wide in a 'come at me!' kind of gesture.

And with that, the battle began.

"Edward, use low sweep!" Chase exclaimed, taking a battle pose behind his Pokemon as the Machop charged forward.

"Earl, defense curl!" John said quickly.

The Phanpy crouched low in a defensive stance as the it's opponent swept out with it's leg, connecting with one of Phanpy's legs, knocking him back but not toppling him. Both Pokemon took a step backwards after the clash, but it was clear that Earl was now favoring the leg that had been struck. He would be slowed significantly for the rest of the battle.

"Karate chop!" The trainer with the scarf yelled.

"Defense curl!" John responded again.

"Chop!" Edward growled.

Phanpy took an even more defensive stance, and the Machop struck him with his hand. The attack landed solidly, but Phanpy was now a tank thanks to two uses of defense curl. He only took minimal damage.

"Solid strategy." Chase complimented, a hand on his chin in thought.

"Thanks." John replied. He preferred as little banter as possible while battling.

"Shame it won't save you! My Machop is the strongest out there, my dude!"

"We'll see about that." John responded, "Hit him with a tackle!"

"Seriously?" The Red Dragon exclaimed, "You're gonna use normal type moves against-"

He was cut off as Earl slammed into Edward with his body, throwing him back off his feet onto his backside.

"What-" Chase exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Before he can recover! Rollout! Just like you saw in the gym!" John commanded as he thrust one of his arms forward.

There was no time to react as the Phanpy curled into a ball and began to spin at a very high speed, quickly rolling into the Machop and continuing to spin, grinding the enemy Pokemon into the dirt.

"I've never seen Rollout used like that before!" The Red Dragon said to himself, clearly quite surprised. "Get out of there, Edward!"

The Machop managed to get a hold on Earl with his immense strength, bringing his rolling to a halt. He threw the Phanpy several feet backwards and rose to his feet. The fighting type Pokemon was quite obviously the worse off of the two in terms of damage now. Scrapes and scratches adorned it's body, and it was breathing hard.

"Ma... chop." It growled as it glared daggers at it's opponent.

John looked to Thea for translation. She brought her eyes up to him in response.

 _"I'm not going to repeat that kind of language."_ She said, taken slightly aback.

"You're pretty good." Chase said, closing his eyes and shrugging his shoulders with a small smile. "I think I've underestimated you a bit. Using an ineffective move like tackle for it's utility in knocking Pokemon over so that you can follow up with your actual attack is a pretty smart plan."

John offered him a nod in response.

Suddenly, the trainer's features darkened as his eyes opened and transfixed themselves on John. His small smile quickly grew into a harsh slash of a smile.

"Too bad all that scheming won't mean a thing. Edward?"

"Machop?" The Pokemon asked, glancing sideways.

"Revenge." The single word seeped through the grin transfixed on Chase's face.

John opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off as Machop roared and charged forward with incredible speed. The Pokemon jumped into the air and delivering a spinning kick to Earl's face, staggering him backwards. As Earl reeled, he was struck with a powerful uppercut that launched him into the air. As he began to fall back to the ground, Edward took a low stance, pulling a fist back in preparation for the final blow.

"Earl!" John called out.

"Now!" Chase roared.

He connected, sending the Phanpy skidding backwards in the dirt before coming to a rest.

 _"What kind of move was that?"_ The exclaimed as she glanced nervously at John, _"I've never seen it before."_

"Revenge is a move that's way stronger if it gets used right after a Pokemon takes major damage. I haven't seen it used before, either." John replied, staring nervously at where Earl was lying in the dirt. A small dust cloud had been kicked up behind where he had stopped skidding. The now nearly set sun shone a few beams through the dust.

"Well, it seems like that's that, huh?"Chase said smugly, "Don't feel to bad, I've been-"

He was cut off as Earl slowly got to his feet, one eye closed in pain. He seemed to be having some trouble standing, but he was certainly still in the fight.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me" Chase groaned, putting a hand on his forehead.

"Phan... py?"

"Thea, translate." John commanded.

The smiled.

 _"He says, 'Is that all you've got?'"_

John chuckled in response.

"Chop! Machop!" The opposing Pokemon shot back.

 _"The Machop says, 'Your ass is grass. This ends here.' Charming."_

"Phanpy." Earl said, his eyes glowing with determination.

 _"Earl says, "I'm done talking. Let's end this.'"_

"So am I." John said, looking towards his Pokemon. Earl looked back and nodded.

"You're... what?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Use Rollout!"John exclaimed.

As Earl curled into a ball to prepared to use the attack, John's opponent grit his teeth in frustration.

"Oh no way, it aint not going down like this! Hit 'em with Knock Off!"

Edward growled as his fist surged with dark energy. He pulled his fist back and ran at Earl, who began to roll at top speed towards his foe. The fighting type Pokemon threw his punch forward as his opponent ran into him, connecting and creating a loud noise and a small shock wave that blew some of John's hair back. Both trainers watched in anticipation as both fighters had a test of strength. After Earl continued to spin on Edward's fist for a few seconds, he slowly began to overpower the Machop, who seemed to have tired after using Revenge earlier. What had looked like a test of strength was actually a test of endurance.

"No!" Chase exclaimed.

The Machop's arm was blown back as Earl connected with full force, knocking Edward out on impact as he was driven down into the ground. The Phanpy came out of the Rollout, took three steps forward, and collapsed.

John, Thea, and Oddball all cheered excitedly at their victory. John pumped a fist in the air, Thea spun happily in circles, and Oddball flew in loops in the air, squawking loudly. After their previous defeat, it felt good to have a win again. Chase looked disappointed, recalling his Machop and saying something under his breath that John couldn't make out.

"That was really close." John said, calling Earl back to his ball and thanking him for his performance.

The last sliver of sunlight faded behind the water, revealing a multitude of stars overhead. The night was clear, and moon's reflection cast off the water as the dust from the previous battle cleared.

Chase withdrew the Great Ball from the pocket of his sweater, admiring it in the moonlight. It was easily recognizable from its blue and red markings.

"Do you wanna know why they call me the red dragon?"

"Uh, sure?" John responded, as Thea cast a quizzical glance at their opponent.

"Let me show you."

With that, Chase nonchalantly tossed the great ball over his shoulder into the river. John was about to ask him what he was doing when his though process was interrupted by a deep roar coming from beneath the waves. Suddenly, a massive Pokemon emerged from the water, letting loose and nearly ear-splitting screech as it rose to it's full height, towering over everything in the surrounding area as the upper portion of it's body stuck out of the river. It looked like an aquatic dragon. It's eyes seemed filled with an unstoppable rage, matching nicely with the brilliant red scales that covered it's body. The monster glared at it's opposition and gnashed it's fangs.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" John exclaimed, eyes widening as both he and his party took a couple steps back.

 _"Is that a Gyarados? Why is it red? I've never seen one up close before!"_ Thea's words rang through John's mind, tainted with panic.

"Hehehe."

Chase's chuckle became almost hysterical laughter as he spread his arms wide and looked up at the sky.

"Hahahahaha!"

John had to admit that this trainer certainly knew how to make things exciting. The sight of him standing there laughing while his beast of a Pokemon towered right behind in the moonlight was a sight that would intimidate anyone.

The Gyarados proceeded to lean down near Chase, allowing its trainer to clamber on atop it's neck. It rose back to it's full height, with The Red Dragon now riding high on it's back.

"I'd like you to meet Alphonse!" He exclaimed, "He's quite a sight, isn't he?"

"You could say that, yeah." John responded, his mind buzzing as he tried to formulate a battle strategy.

"He's a shiny, that's why he's red." Chase explained as his features suddenly lit up, "That gives me an idea! Your Kirlia is shiny, right? Why don't we pit shiny against shiny? Seems like a pretty fitting way to end this."

John found himself agreeing.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Thea, are you ready?"

 _"Always."_

Thea quickly flipped in front of her trainer, eager to start the battle.

"Okay, let's dance!" Their opponent roared from the top of his Gyarados.

The battle that followed was one of attrition. Alphonse was powerful enough to knock Thea out with only a few attacks, but she was putting everything into avoiding his moves. Her incredible agility coupled with the utility of her Double Team was enough to allow her to only take glancing blows from the overpowering moves her opponent was using. Whenever she was able to dodge successfully, she used the opportunity to pelt the Gyarados with a usage of Magical Leaf. It was a battle strategy that proved itself to be very effective, not to mention that Thea's status as a fairy type Pokemon meant that any dragon type moves that Chase tried to use would have no effect on her, cutting off some of his strongest moves.

"Hold still!" Chase yelled angrily.

 _"Oh yeah, what a brilliant idea. Why haven't I tried that, again?"_ The sighed, sidestepping an ice fang that destroyed one of her doubles and firing a group of magical leaves into her foe's eyes.

"You're doing great, Thea." John reassured as a bead of sweat began to drip from his brow, "But we both know you can't keep this up forever. He's gonna outlast you if we don't figure out how to end this soon."

 _"I know."_ She replied as she panted, _"But he's too heavy for me to use confusion on. I can't budge him."_

"Hang in there!" John cried, "I'll think of something!"

John wracked his brain for a plan to finish the fight. Was it possible that Thea simply lacked the firepower to win, like when she had faced off against Elysium? No, that battle had been different. John knew they could win this time.

Suddenly, and Idea came to him. Thea had never used this move before, but it was likely their only chance to pull off a victory.

"Thea, buy yourself some time!" John yelled, "Make an opening!"

"There's no openings, man!" Chase growled in unison with his Pokemon, "Aqua Tail! We're done here!"

 _"Don't count on it."_ The said, her eyes glowing blue as she used confusion to levitate the dirt from the ground she was standing on into a giant cloud, obscuring the vision of her foes.

"That's playing dirty!" Chase snarled before chuckling to himself, "...or dusty? Playing dusty? Hehehe."

"You need to concentrate!" John cried, "Clear your mind! Focus! You can do this!"

Obscured by the cloud, Thea fell to one knee and closed her eyes. Clear her mind? She wasn't completely sure what he meant, but she had a slight idea what he was thinking of. She had never even done the move that her hunch said he was hoping for. The odds of her pulling this off with no experience before the cloud dissipated were slim to none. She shook her head. Why had he gone with such a risky plan?

"Thea! I believe in you!"

Oh. Right. That was why.

Thea began to speak telepathically.

 _"My mind is my strongest weapon."_

It was a different feeling than her conversations with John. It felt like she was projecting her thoughts to the surround area, not just at one individual person. It was like everything could hear her. Like she was talking to every little inanimate object around her.

 _"All weapons must be kept in peak condition."_

John could see a faint blue flow coming from within the clouds of dust, but it was impossible to tell what was actually happening.

 _"I take this time to sharpen my sword."_

Chase squinted. All he had to do was wait for a clear shot, and he could finish the fight with one attack. He was confident of that fact.

 _"When I finish speaking, it's edge will be razor sharp."_

Thea stood up and simultaneously dispersed the entire could of dust with a wave of her arm.

"What the hell?" Chase yelled, "What was that move? How did you do that?"

John was at a loss for words. Thea stood before the Gyarados, eyes glowing brilliantly. That wasn't all that was glowing, as her entire body seemed to be enveloped in a blue aura that illuminated the surrounding area. John swore he could almost feel the power coming off of her from where he was standing. She stared down the massive beast that was her foe with a pair of cold eyes. He had to admit that he was a incredibly impressed she had been able to pull off Calm Mind without having practiced it before. By clearing her mind and focusing, psychic Pokemon are capable of greatly improving their psychic abilities and special defense for a limited time. The trick was buying enough time to actually pull off the technique.

 _"John, what do you say we end this?"_ Thea asked, her telepathic words almost sounding like an actual voice in this heightened state.

"I was thinking the same thing." John agreed "Thea! Use Confusion!"

"I don't care what kinda of Super Saiyan bullshit you're trying to pull right now, but I'm not losing!" Chase growled while grinding his teeth together, "Aqua Tail!"

As Alphonse turned to swing with his tail, Thea grabbed his face with her telekinesis and stopped him in mid air. Using both arms and gritting her teeth, she let out a yell as she redirected the serpent's face down into the shore with all her strength. The ground shook a little from the impact, and Chase screamed in surprise as his mount collided with the earth. The serpent recoiled back into the air with a roar of pain, temporarily stunned.

"Don't let up! Keep attacking! Don't give him a second to recover!" John exclaimed, his hands balled into fists.

Thea continued her assault, slamming Alphonse's head once again. She roared as she pulled a large boulder from the riverbank and threw it into her foe, nearly knocking it over. She kept up these two attacks until her enemy looked ready to collapse.

 _"This is it!"_ She exclaimed, raising her hands in the air as an incredibly high volume of magical leaves appeared surrounding the Alphonse on all sides.

Chase looked around and sighed.

"You cannot be serio-"

He was interrupted as the attack struck his Pokemon from all sides at once, causing it to roar in pain and fall onto the shore. It was knocked out before it even hit the riverbank. Chase tumbled off and lay beside the water, groaning.

The aura surrounding Thea slowly faded and she turned around to look at her trainer, offering a shaky smile. John rushed forward and picked her up, giving her a warm hug.

"That was incredible! You were incredible!" He exclaimed, squeezing her in his arms.

 _"Thanks John."_ She replied, burying her face in his chest.

"I'm okay, in case anybody was wondering." The Red Dragon groaned, interrupting the moment from his spot in the dirt.

"Oh, right." John chuckled, making his way over to where his former opponent lay and offering him a hand. Chase took it, and John helped him to his feet.

"Thanks." The trainer sighed, "Hell of a fight, man. Thanks for that."

"Could've gone either way. It was pretty great." John agreed. Both trainers exchanged a look of respect and admiration.

Chase reached into his pocket and produced a small yellow crystal which John recognized as a revive. He lumbered over to his defeated Gyarados and used the item on it, restoring it's consciousness. The Pokemon groaned and looked up at it's trainer. It's previously rage filled eyes were now apologetic. It gave a soft growl.

"Hey, don't worry about it Al." Chase said as he placed a hand on the Pokemon's snout, "You did great out there. We almost had 'em. Besides, I think we put on a pretty good show."

The serpent snorted in response.

"Exactly!" Chase laughed, "Now let's head home, yeah?"

The Gyarados gave a mighty nod and turned, allowing The Red Dragon to climb aboard. Thea and John watched with curiosity. This monster of a Pokemon now seemed almost completely docile.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" The rider exclaimed, "Climb on! I said I would take you across, right?"

The pair hesitated before approaching.

"Before we get on, I've got a question for you." John said, eyeing Alphonse.

"Don't worry!" Chase hollered as his scarf flared out behind him, "He only bites when I tell him to!"

"Actually, I was wondering about our deal." John uttered as Thea climbed onto his shoulders.

"What about it?"

"Were you really going to turn us away if you won?"

Chase looked at John for a second before bursting into laughter.

"Nah, man." He said, still chuckling. "I wasn't gonna make you turn around and walk all the way back. It just would've been more of a pity ride. This is like a respect ride. That's like the opposite of a pity ride."

"Right. Good to know."

With that, John and Thea climbed onto the red Pokemon's back. Oddball flew close by.

"Oldale isn't a very big town, but there's an inn where you could stay the night. I'm assuming you're on your way to Petalburg to challenge the gym leader, right?"

"That's right." John replied as Thea nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Sweet. I've got faith in you, man. You and that Kirlia are going places, I can tell." Chase said as his Pokemon began to swim towards their destination. The ride was surprisingly smooth.

As John rested his head back and looked up at the brilliant night sky, Thea sat beside him, resting her little head against his side. He couldn't have been more proud of her. This battle had been great for his team. Both Thea and Earl had learned new moves, and Thea now possessed a means of greatly increasing her own power, which would allow her to take on opponents who were far stronger than those they had faced before. He still had a long way to go before he would be able to face Duncan, but today had been an important step forward for John, Thea, and the rest of his team.

John put an arm around her and pulled her closer as he looked at the approaching horizon, a small but confident smile forming on his face.

* * *

Hey guys! It's the author here. Long time no talk, huh? I just wanted to offer my sincerest thanks to everybody who's read my story, left a favorite or follow, and especially those of you who have taken the time to write a review. The lot of you are the reason I decided to come back and continue writing this story. I'm going to be writing a lot more now, so please stick around! New chapters will be coming out very soon!


	5. Chapter 5

"Thea! Magical Leaf! One more time!"

 _"Right!"_

John pointed forward enthusiastically as Thea looked back at him and nodded in understanding. The Slaking she was facing off against gave a loud sigh in response, showing little interest in the battle that was transpiring. Thea glared back at him with glowing blue eyes. Her 'calm mind' state was in full effect, providing her with the power spike that she required to face off against such a powerful foe.

"Come on Slaking! Get your head in the game!" Norman yelled. The man was seemingly less than impressed with his Pokemon's performance. Slaking were known for being almost unmatched in two categories. Sheer physical strength, and unbelievable laziness. The gym leader was currently having to deal with the second part of this reputation. It was common for Slaking to simply disobey orders out of sheer laziness.

The bulky ape-like Pokemon regarded Thea with a half-lidded and mostly uncaring gaze. She gave a little growl and summoned a cluster of sharp, growing leaves in front of her in preparation for another attack. She planned to finish this quickly. This was the final foe they would have to defeat in order to obtain the balance badge.

Thea, John, and the rest of their team had awoken within the Oldale inn that Chase had recommended they stay in after their battle with him the previous night. After breakfast and a pleasantly uneventful trek across Route 102, they arrived at Petalburg City. The group wasted no time in heading straight to the gym, decided they would enjoy the city after they succeeded in defeating Norman, the local gym leader. He was an intense man with a love of Pokemon battles, specializing in normal-type Pokemon. The interior of his gym was incredibly simple, lacking even the dirt floor that had been in Wattson's. His battleground of choice was a simple bare room, with plenty of windows to supply light.

The battle had been fierce, but John was now poised to deal the final blow.

"Kirlia!" Thea exclaimed out loud, thrusting her hand forward as the leaves flew forward with incredible speed. Her opponent simply closed his eyes as the barrage struck its mark, defeating him and securing the victory.

Norman threw his hands up in frustration as Thea leapt into John's arms. Both Earl and Oddball had been defeated earlier in the battle, so only the two of them were left to celebrate. Not that those circumstances seemed to diminish how excited the pair seemed.

"Well played." Norman said, extending a hand.

Putting Thea down, John took the gym leader's hand and shook it. When he released him, Norman handed him the badge.

"The balance badge. You earned it. Come back and battle me anytime. I'm always ready for a rematch."

"Sounds good!" John chuckled, but he knew that he likely would have lost if the Slaking hadn't been loafing around at the right moments.

As the gym doors slid shut behind John, he drew in a long, content breath as he smiled up at the clear blue sky. It was a beautiful day outside. He exhaled slowly as he looked down at Thea, who gazed back up at him with a happy little smile on her face.

"You did great." He said to her as he took the badge case from his bag. He admired the balance badge one more time before placing it inside the case. It's silver sheen contrasted nicely with the yellow hue of the dynamo badge.

 _"We've got two now, right?"_ Thea asked as he closed the case, _"How many gym leaders are left?"_

"There's eight gyms, so we still have six more to beat. I'd say we're making good progress, though." John straightened his hat as he spoke.

 _"I concur!"_ Thea exclaimed, closing her eyes and giving him a flashy grin.

After the two shared a bit of laughter, Thea and John gazed blankly out at the city, realizing only now that they had failed to plan the rest of their day at all.

"Well." John sighed.

 _"Why don't we head to a Pokemon center to heal the other two, then decide what we're going to do for the rest of the day?"_

"Sounds good." John agreed, "I'm thinking we should do lunch after."

 _"Yeah, let's do lunch."_ The confirmed as the pair began walking.

With that, the two began their journey across the city. Thea quickly realized that this place existed in stark contrast to Mauville City. Mauville had been a seemingly unending landscape of gray punctuated by neon signs. But where Mauville had concrete and skyscrapers, Petalburg had grass and trees. This place seemed more like a small town than a city, as there was vegetation everywhere they looked. The people of this city mostly lived in cute little houses as opposed to apartment buildings. Thea could sense that the people who lived in this city did so in almost perfect harmony with the world around them. While she was not a grass-type, her species were still quite in tune with nature. Thea believed this was what allowed her to use attacks like Magical Leaf.

The Kirlia smiled at a passing Zigzagoon that grinned at her as it's trainer walked past John. Looking around, she realized that nearly everyone on the street had a Pokemon of some kind walking with them. Some even had more than one. It wasn't an unusual thing to see, but it certainly wasn't this common in other cities.

 _"John, everyone here has Pokemon with them! Even the old people!"_ Thea exclaimed, glancing around excitedly.

"My dad told me about this place." John said, looking around the city with a pleasant look on his face, "It's pretty great, huh?"

 _"Sure is."_ Thea agreed, happy to see all the varieties of Pokemon around her. The people here seemed to treat Pokemon differently than those of other regions of Hoenn, and it left her with a feeling of hope in regards to how she felt about John.

The gym and Pokemon center were unfortunately on different sides of town, and there was a substantial distance between the two places. The pair continued to traverse the pleasant city, taking in the sights around them.

John's ears perked up as he heard Thea stumble behind him. He turned around to see her quickening her pace to keep up with him. Why had she fallen behind?

"Hey Thea, you feeling okay?" He asked, feeling a little concerned. Kirlia were a species known for moving with inhuman grace. They did not stumble.

 _"Yeah no, I'm- I'm good John. Thanks for asking."_ She replied. Her telepathic voice sounded a little sluggish.

"You don't sound okay." John replied as he stopped walking.

 _"I dunno... my body just feels kinda hot. I don't know why."_ John felt like he almost had to strain to hear her.

"Okay, we're almost there. Can you make the rest of the walk to the Pokemon center? It's like five minutes. I can just carry you if you want."

Thea shook her head and began walking forwards on her own. John couldn't understand why she was being stubborn. He felt the heat coming off her as she passed him.

 _"I feel weird."_ She said as she walked slowly in front of him, _"Like I've got a ton of energy but I don't know how to use it. My thoughts are kinda clouded. I don't understand where this hotness is coming from."_

John sighed uneasily. He did not understand what was going on in the slightest. All the trainer knew was that he was incredibly relieved when he recognized the familiar red roof of a Pokemon center in the distance.

"Thea, look." John said, pointing out the building. He looked down and saw Thea stumble again. She was squinting, and her mouth was open slightly. Her face was flush and her arms hung down by her sides.

 _"Good."_ She replied simply.

"Thea, c'mon. Let me carry you the rest of the way. There's no shame in-"

 _"No."_ She said, interrupting him. Was it possible that she was losing her telepathic voice? John sighed in frustration, but obliged her.

The doors to the Pokemon center opened and Thea took three steps into the building before falling to her hands and knees, panting. John rushed to her side and knelt beside her.

"Thea!" He exclaimed, putting his hand on her back. He looked around hurriedly at the people in the room. There were several other trainers and their Pokemon as well as the nurse behind the counter.

Suddenly John lurched back in surprise and fell on his haunches as his hand was hit by what felt like an electric shock. He looked at Thea in surprise and confusion as blue electricity danced all over her body, striking out and indiscriminately shocking nearby objects. He clutched his hand close to his chest as a bit of smoke trailed off it.

 _"Stay... back... please."_ John felt the words pound through his skull. It felt like the wind had suddenly picked up inside the Pokemon center as papers and other light objects were blown into the air. The small crowd of people in the building were hugging the walls with their Pokemon, attempting to stay as far away from Thea as possible. John glanced around in panic and began to notice that heavier objects like tables and chairs had begun to levitate off the ground.

John stood up again.

"Thea! You gotta get a hold of yourself! You're gonna hurt somebody!" John yelled, eyes wide.

His Pokemon gave an angry yell in response, but did not say anything telepathically. An arc of electricity leapt off her and struck a newspaper in midair, igniting it instantly. Her body had begun to give off a blue glow, brighter than her calm mind state. John couldn't tell if she was screaming in pain or in fear, but he knew that if this went on much longer it would end badly for everyone.

The wind threatened to blow John off his feet. The air was a maelstrom of paper and trash that were constantly being ignited by electricity as they blew around. Every table and chair in the building was four feet off the ground. Nurse Joy hid behind the counter of the Pokemon Center, afraid to look out. The other trainers took cover behind whatever they could.

Suddenly, the glow around Thea's body became a stark white and greatly intensified. John shielded his eyes from the blinding light with his good hand as his mind raced, trying desperately to come up with something, anything to resolve this situation. He heard Thea give an earsplitting cry of pain as his heart pounded in his chest.

Then, without warning, everything stopped.

There was a loud crash as every piece of furniture in the building fell to the ground at the same time. Anything lighter fell more slowly as something extinguished the fires before they could reach the floor and cause and damage. The air became as calm as it had been when they walked in.

John lowered his hands and quickly glanced around the room. Nobody seemed to be hurt. His eyes then fell to Thea.

Or, what had been Thea.

A Gardevoir knelt on the floor where his Kirlia had been. Her color scheme had remained mostly the same, but her body had changed drastically. She looked as though she had gained about three feet in height. The orange horn-like protrusions that she had previously on her head were gone, replaced by a single horn-like protrusion in her chest that appeared to come from both the front and back of her upper body. It looked like it was sticking through her. Her hair had gotten considerable shorter, curling neatly around the sides of her face instead of hanging beside her head as it had before. Her actual figure had become far more feminine than it had been previously, sporting long, slender legs. The ballerina-like outfit she used to wear was replaced was a long, elegant dress the flowed around her lower body and obscured her feet.

"Thea..." John breathed.

His next words caught in his throat as she turned her face to look at him. The first thing he noticed was that she had become absolutely gorgeous. The second thing he noticed was the tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were open wide with an emotion he couldn't put his finger on, and her mouth open to reveal gritted teeth. Her cheeks were flushed red, and she quickly looked around at the humans and Pokemon that surrounded her. John was the only one looking at her with something that wasn't primal fear.

The Gardevoir stood up shakily, clearly not at all used to her new form. She turned to run out the doors but fell after her first step, landing on her hands and knees. John moved to help her instinctively, but she quickly got back up and clumsily ran out the doors. John glanced around, realized that nobody had been hurt, and quickly turned to run after her. As he made his way outside the building, he saw her a couple feet away on the sidewalk.

"Thea! Stop!" He yelled, as he quickened his pace to catch her.

She turned her head to look at him with a tear-filled gaze before turning away and quickening her pace. John was still far more coordinated than she was, and he gained on her fast. When he was about a foot away from her, he noticed that she was flickering slightly. Her body seemed to blink in and out of existence several times a second.

John blinked, and when he opened his eyes she had somehow moved five feet away from him. Startled, he slowed down slightly. Had she just teleported? It was certainly possible. She had never been able to do it as a Kirlia, but the power spike could have possibly advanced her psychic abilities to the the point where she was able to perform new moves. The teleport seemed to be kind of inept, not like Elysium, who had teleported instantly without flickering. She could have even done it by accident.

Despite the small lead she had gained, her speed was still vastly less than her trainer's. He soon caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, attempting to pacify her.

"Gardevoir!" She cried in anger, closing her eyes and shaking her head furiously as she struggled against him. Her voice had deepened considerably since her evolution. As a Kirlia, she had sounded much like a human girl, but her voice was more akin to a woman's. It was familiar, yet different.

"Thea, you need to calm down!" John said, attempting to maintain his grip on her. The other people and Pokemon on the street had stopped what they were doing and were staring at them, unsure of what to do to help the situation. Most of the people from inside the Pokemon center were outside it's doors now as well, watching the spectacle unfold.

"...Voir!" She sobbed. John couldn't imagine her embarrassment. It wasn't hard to imagine why she had reacted in the manner she did. If their positions were reversed, it would be more than likely that he would have-

Suddenly, John felt like he was flying. He felt like his entire being was being thrown at a velocity that his mind couldn't actually comprehend. He couldn't tell which direction was up or down, left or right. There was nothing but an overwhelming feeling of speed.

John probably felt this way for one one-hundredth of a second, and then he was holding his Pokemon in a forest. He released her, turned around, and proceeded to lose his lunch all over a nearby bush. Then he collapsed onto his hands and knees, panting. She had teleported the two of them, that much he was almost sure of. He wiped his mouth and sat back on his haunches as he considered that he hadn't given teleportation much thought and he'd never considered that motion sickness may have been a factor. Perhaps teleportation sickness would be a better name. His companion seemed to be unaffected by this, as he turned to look at her.

The Gardevoir was sitting back, hiding her face behind a pair of big, three fingered hands. She didn't seem to be actively crying anymore, but her breathing was still shaky. John decided that the best course of action was to let her calm herself down. She may have become something completely different, but this Pokemon was still his partner, and he had known her long enough to trust her and to give her the space she needed. The two sat in silence for several minutes as John listened to his Gardevoir's breathing slowly relax and return to normal. Her posture changed as well. She stopped covering her face with her hands and instead used her arms to pull her knees close to her chest, hiding her face behind them, allowing her eyes to peer over top. Her face was stained with tears, but she had stopped crying.

Glancing around the area, John couldn't see anything but trees and vegetation, but he could hear the city from where they were, so it was safe to assume that they were somewhere in the forest that surrounded Petalburg City. They had moved a considerable distance, that much was for sure.

"Thea." John simply said, wanting to get her attention.

She quickly glanced at him as he spoke, before her eyes flitted away and went back to looking at something to the left of him. John could tell her face was red, despite most of it being hidden.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded, still not looking at him.

"I'm really sorry for what happened in the Pokemon center." John sighed, "It wasn't you fault Thea, really."

Her eyes widened briefly before returning to normal.

"Neither of us could have known that was going to happen. There was nothing we could have done about it."

She gave a quick nod. Something was clearly still bothering her.

"What's wrong?" He asked, moving a little closer to her. The two were only a few feet away from each other now.

She lifted her head from behind her knees and look at him genuinely for the first time since she had evolved. Her cheeks were slightly blushed, and she held his gaze with a pair of orange eyes. John felt his face flush a little from having her stare at him like this. She seemed like a completely different person now. Her expression was one of slight frustration and concentration, like she was thinking about something.

"Are you having trouble talking?" He asked, realizing once again how little he knew about her.

She held up a hand with a single finger extended upwards, in a gesture that meant 'give me a minute.'

After a few more seconds, John briefly felt a dull pain in both his temples. He rubbed the side of his head, grimacing. Was she doing this to him?

 _"Hello? John? Can you hear me?"_

He was startled as he heard and unfamiliar voice inside his thoughts.

"Thea? Is that you?" He asked, looking at her with wide eyes.

 _"Yes, it's me."_ She replied.

John was amazed. This was completely different from how Thea had spoken to him before. Previously, she had only been able to relay a message to him telepathically. It was as if he had read a text message or a sentence from a book. He knew that the words existed, but there was no sounds to go along with them. This was totally different. Thea was actually speaking to him now. He could actually hear her voice within his thoughts.

"This is incredible!" John exclaimed as he beamed at his partner, "I can actually hear you!"

She seemed to brighten up a little upon hearing this praise. She wiped her face with one hand.

 _"I'm sorry about the headache. I had to recreate our psychic link after my body changed. Kinda like making a new road for a new kind of car."_

"Don't worry." He replied, "Totally worth it." Her telepathic voice sounded identical to her verbal one, a slightly high pitched but very attractive tone.

 _"Oh, and I'm sorry for making you sick."_ Thea added as she looked down at the ground again, _"I honestly didn't even realize that I was teleporting until after I'd done it."_

"Hey, no problem! A little teleportation sickness never hurt anyone, right?" John chuckled.

Thea looked at him and blinked.

 _"I don't understand how you can be joking about this. This doesn't freak you out?"_

John blinked back.

"What doesn't freak me out?"

Thea's mouth hung open slightly. She quickly stood up.

 _"What do you mean, 'what'?"_ She asked, gesturing to herself with her hands. _"look at me!"_

John stood up as well. He was only about half a foot taller than her now.

"Are you asking what I think of your new form?" He started, "Because I think it's great. Honestly, I'm blown away by how great you look now."

Thea looked away from him, flustered.

"Plus you can do all kinds of new stuff!" He exclaimed, widening his arms. "We found out that you can teleport, and communicate super well now."

 _"...That's true."_

"I'm sure what happened in the Pokemon center was scary, but we could go apologize for that if you wanted. I'm sure it would make you feel better."

Thea responded with silence, talking a few steps away from him. John could tell that he'd missed what the actual problem was.

"Look Thea, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

She stayed quiet.

"Please."

Suddenly she whipped around to face him, eyes narrowed.

 _"I'm scared, John!"_ She exclaimed.

"...Scared of what?" He asked. He hadn't been expecting an answer like this.

She hesitated before fixing her gaze on a tall oak tree that stood behind him.

 _"I'll show you."_

Thea walked past him gazed intensely at a nearby tree. Slowly, she lifted one arm with her fingers outstretched, pointed towards the tree's trunk. Her eyes took on a familiar blue glow that quickly enveloped her target as well.

Then, she closed her hand into a fist. John took a step back in panic as the oak suddenly collapsed in on itself. With a loud crunch, splinters were thrown into the air as nearly every branch broke at once and pushed themselves into the trunk. This was a level of telekinesis that Thea had been incapable of before, but that wasn't all that John noticed. Her powers had a very different tone now. Before her evolution, abilities like this seemed to have a level of finesse to them, as if she was simply using her mind to move an object. But now, those same abilities seemed far more violent then they had ever been before.

John turned away from the mangled tree and looked at Thea with concern.

 _"I'm strong now."_ She sighed, _"I'm so strong that its scary."_

He walked over to his partner, and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, not sure what he was going to say.

"Thea, I'm not going to act like I can really know how you feel." He started, "But I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere. You and I are going to work together until you can control your powers, okay? We aren't going to give up because of something like this."

The Gardevoir gave a small sniff.

 _"You promise?"_

"I promise."

John pulled her into a tight embrace. The orange protrusion in her chest poked him slightly, but he didn't mind. She hesitated for a moment before wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder. They stood like that for a while before breaking apart.

 _"Thanks, really."_ She said, giving him the first genuine smile he'd seen since she had evolved.

He looked at her again. He still couldn't believe that someone like this was his partner. It seemed too incredible to be real.

"What do you say we head back into town?" John asked, "We can't be that far away."

 _"That's a good idea."_ Thea replied, _"I'd like to stop by that Pokemon center again, if that's alright."_

"Sure."

She offered him a hand and an expectant smile.

 _"Want me to teleport us?"_

John considered this for about half a second.

"Maybe we ought to stick to walking for a bit. I don't think my stomach can take another round right now."

 _"Oh. Right."_ Thea said sheepishly, _"Sorry again, by the way."_

And with that, the two made their way through the forest back to Petalburg City. The journey only took about five minutes, but it gave Thea a chance to adjust to her new body. John watched in awe as her movements became more confident over time. By the time they emerged from the brush, she had completely lost the awkward manner she had moved in before.

"I'm still blown away that you were able to teleport us that far." John said as they got back on the sidewalk, "How did you do it?"

 _"I just kinda... think really hard about being somewhere, and then I guess I'm there. Its hard to explain."_

"Well then show me." He said, grinning at her.

 _"Um, okay. I'll try."_ She said, _"I... think if i just-"_

Thea's body flickered very briefly before reappearing a couple feet away from John. He applauded in response.

"That is so cool!" He exclaimed, running over to her.

 _"You think?"_ She responded in a coy manner, giving a shy little smile.

"Totally!" He continued, "How often can you do it?"

 _"I think I could probably do it once every couple seconds. I'd say that my teleport has a cool down of a little less than ten seconds. Maybe like seven or eight."_

"That's still great." He said, "I think that if me and you did it a couple more times I could probably build up a tolerance to it, and we could use it to get around! Wouldn't that be cool?"

 _"Definitely."_

It wasn't long before they had reached the Pokemon Center. Upon arrival, Thea apologized to the nurse and any trainer who was still inside from when she had been there previously. They were all understanding, and agreed that while the experience was certainly scary, nobody had been injured during it. Even the building itself was pretty much totally undamaged, aside from a little bit of mess that had been cleaned up by the time the pair had returned.

They both exited the center, and John could tell that Thea was pretty much back to normal now.

"Hey. What do you say we get a coffee?" He asked as they got a short distance from where they had been.

 _"That sounds good. I could use a little relaxing."_

The pair spent a little while looking around before finding a small coffee shop tucked away in the city's small mall. Today must have been a slow day, as there was only a few other people in the cafe.

John sat across from Thea at a small booth in the corner of the room. It was warm inside the cafe, and the place carried the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed coffee and baking. John sipped his cappuccino as he watched the Gardevoir across from him lift her latte with both hands and blow on the surface to cool the drink down a little. He chuckled under his breath. She might have changed a lot, but it seemed that being adorable was not a skill she'd lost along the way.

The pair sat in silence for a little while, simply enjoying the drinks, the pleasant atmosphere of the cafe, and each other's company.

"So." John started, deciding to initiate some conversation.

 _"So?"_ Thea asked, putting down her drink and giving him an expectant look.

"I haven't asked you, the one who evolved, what you actually think of-" He gestured to her new body with a hand, "-This."

Thea took a sip of her latte, lost in thought for a second.

 _"I guess you could say I'm starting to warm up to it."_ She eventually said, _"I liked my old body a lot, but this one certainly has its perks. I don't feel like as much of a child, you could say. I kinda feel like I'm on somewhat equal ground to humans now, since I'm closer to their height. It doesn't feel nearly as weird to be in a place like this, for example. I think I would've felt a lot more out of place in here before today."_

"I'm glad." John said happily, leaning back in his chair. He looked at Thea again, but this time his gaze was drawn to whatever the orange thing was that poked out of her chest. He decided now was as good a time as any to ask about it.

"I've gotta ask, what is that thing coming out of your chest? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

Thea's cheeks reddened almost immediately.

"Oh no, I'm sorry!" John quickly, afraid that he had offended her. "Forget I said anything."

 _"It's fine, don't worry."_ She said, looking down at it herself.

 _"To be completely honest, I'm not completely sure myself. It's different from the horns I had on my head in my previous form."_

"Those horns were what you used to do your magic, right?"

 _"Kinda. They were for amplifying my psychic powers. I would push my abilities through them, and it would make them stronger."_

"But this is different?" John asked.

 _"Well, I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that this is my heart. Or the closest thing I have to one now."_

John's eyes widened.

"Really?" He asked, a little taken aback.

 _"I know, it's quite strange, isn't it?"_

Suddenly, John felt an incredibly strong feeling. It was like something was drawing him towards her heart. A sense of desire that he found himself unable to fight.

"...Can I touch it?"

The redness that had dissipated from Thea's face while she had been speaking came back stronger than before. John looked at her with genuine curiosity. There wasn't any harm in it, right? There was a strange feeling inside her that she couldn't place. Like a part of her wanted him to do it more than anything.

 _"S-sure."_ She responded, puffing her chest out slightly and still blushing furiously.

John was incredibly curious, that much was true. But to be so bold was very unlike him. It was strange, like the words had come out of his mouth without him even thinking them. He reached out tentatively with his hand across the table. Slowly, he placed three of his fingers on the flat side of her horn.

She let out a small exhale when his fingers made contact.

"Are you okay?" He asked, "This doesn't hurt, does it?"

 _"No! It's just... your hands are warm from holding your coffee. I just wasn't expecting it. I wasn't expecting it... to feel good."_

She looked into his eyes as he slowly placed more of his hand on her heart. He didn't want to go too fast and hurt her. He had no idea if it was fragile or not. Her cheeks were flushed red, but she didn't look embarrassed anymore. Her mouth as open slightly.

The air was heavy.

Thea's heart wasn't soft at all. It felt smooth, like a marble counter top. But it was warm. Warmer than a person's skin was. It didn't feel the least bit fragile. John had a feeling he could hit it with a hammer and not damage it at all. If he really concentrated, he could feel faintly feel what he assumed was a heartbeat deep within it.

That heartbeat was fluttering.

John withdrew his hand and sat back in his chair.

"Um." He started, hesitating.

She hadn't taken her eyes off him. Her tangerine gaze carried an intensity he'd never seen from her before. He wasn't sure if touching her heart had somehow affected her or if this was something different entirely.

"...Thanks?" He said, the sheer level of how bizarre this whole situation was only dawning on him now. Why had he done that? And in public, no less!

Thea blinked twice, seeming to snap out of whatever trance she had been in previously.

 _"Y-yeah."_ She said shakily.

John cleared his throat. Thea drank deeply from a glass of water, attempting to cool herself down and return to a calm state of mind. John glanced around the room. The place hadn't looked very busy, and thankfully he hadn't grabbed anyone's attention by doing that. He had no idea what someone might think if they had seen him.

Suddenly, John remembered something important.

"Thea! We forgot to heal Earl and Oddball!"

 _"Oh no!"_ She exclaimed. The two of them had completely forgotten. Not in all his time training Pokemon had John ever forgotten something like this.

And so the pair made their third visit to Petalburg City's Pokemon center that day. Soon John's team was back to full strength. He made sure that they were all fed, and the group decided that the best course of action was to spend the night there, and head for Rustboro City the following day.

It had become dark outside, and the trainer sat alone on the only bed in their hotel room, watching a sitcom on TV. He turned to look as Thea made her way out of the bathroom. He held a finger to his lips. The other two members of their party were already asleep.

 _"...So. Only one bed."_ Thea said.

John nodded slowly.

 _"I'm, um, assuming our previous arrangement still stands?"_

John nodded quickly. She gave him a small smile and made her way over, quickly burrowing under the covers on the other side of the bed. Tired from the day, they said very little and were content to simply kill a half hour before bed.

John felt himself thinking back on the day's events. He had never heard of a Pokemon evolving in such a violent manner before. There had to be a reason why that had happened. He was determined to unravel that mystery. Then there was what had happened at the coffee shop. Thinking hard about it, John realized that they had basically gone out on a date together. The thought made him uneasy. He couldn't explain why he had done what he did. There was a part of him that believed that at least a part of those emotions had not been his own. He considered the possibility that Thea had somehow influenced him with her psychic abilities, which was certainly plausible. The question seemed to be weather or not she had done it on purpose.

 _"John?"_ She asked, turning to him.

"What's up?" He asked quietly, not wanting to disturb his other two Pokemon slumbering in the armchair across the room.

 _"Today was scary in a lot of ways, so I just wanted to thank you for having my back. I really appreciate it."_

"Anytime." John said in return as the pair smiled earnestly at each other.

Soon they were both asleep on opposite sides of the bed. John's head was filled with thoughts of his Gardevoir's evolution and her incredible potential, but also of their adventure tomorrow, which would take them through Petalburg Woods. Thea's was filled with many conflicting emotions regarding her new body and a renewed set of equally conflicting emotions about how she felt about her trainer.

But while they were sleeping, none of that mattered.


	6. Chapter 6

John reeled and fell to the earth, fighting back a wave of nausea for the fifth time in the past ten minutes.

 _"Are you okay?"_ Thea asked, letting go of his arm as he collapsed.

"Yeah- No- I'm-" John stuttered, covering his mouth as his face took on an unsightly shade of green.

 _"Oh jeez."_ She sighed back, _"Maybe we should take a break for a bit. You're gonna end up_ _ _actually_ getting sick if we keep this up."_

After a few more moments, John regained his composure and stood up, looking down slightly at his partner.

"No way!" He exclaimed, "I only barely threw up that time! That's like, a huge improvement over the first try!"

Thea stifled a giggle that quickly grew into a laugh. She sat down on the grass and looked up at him.

 _"Well if you won't stop, then I will. All this teleporting is starting to wear me out a bit too. I'm not used to all this new stuff I can do yet."_

John walked over to the Gardevoir and gestured to the spot beside where she was sitting.

"May I?" He asked, raising an eyebrow sarcastically.

Thea scoffed.

 _"Like you have to ask."_

The pair sat on the grassy shore of Petalburg City's lake. The sun shined down on them brilliantly as they admired the almost glass-like surface of the lake on this calm day. The surface was near unbroken except for a small group of children playing in the water a short distance away. They happily splashed each other and squealed with laughter. The lake wasn't overly busy as it was still morning, as most residents of the city would sadly have to wait until the afternoon to enjoy this beautiful day. John and Thea had the area to themselves aside from a few families and couples who must have had the day off.

But to say that was their only company would be excluding two very important Pokemon.

Earl quickly trotted over to where the two were sitting, shooting John a grin before looking at Thea.

 **"Looks like you decided to stop torturing our trainer, huh?"** He asked with a playful chuckle, **"He's at least safe for the time being, right?"**

Thea responded with a quiet laugh, appreciating that her teammate seemed to have let off pestering her.

 **"Oh Earl,"** She tittered as she quickly shot him a mischievous grin, **"You and I both know he's never safe from me."**

Both Pokemon snickered at this. John glanced at them a little quizzically but soon went back to admiring the view and relaxing. The two of them seemed to be getting along, and that was good enough for him.

 **"So how are liking your new form?"** The Phanpy asked, sitting down on it's haunches across from Thea with a snort.

 **"I'm getting used to it."** She responded, glancing at her hand and turning it over as if it were still new to her.

 **"Can't say I really know what it's like."** Earl said, giving her a slightly sympathetic look.

 **"That's fine."** Thea replied.

 **"You seem to be handling it pretty well so far."** Earl added.

 **"Well it's only been a day. I'm sure there's going to be plenty of chances for me to screw something up, right?"** She asked with a small smile.

 **"For sure."** He replied, laying back in the grass.

Thea glanced around lazily, searching for a certain Pidove who had been absent from the conversation. It took her a second, but she soon found the bird Pokemon sitting beside the water, with his head and neck completely submerged in the water. He sat completely still as air bubbles slowly rose to the surface and popped beside his head, one at a time. It didn't seem like he was looking for anything under there.

Thea grabbed him by the neck and picked him up, holding him in her arms.

 **"Oddball, what are you doing?"** She asked, more amused than concerned.

He pointed at the water with a wing.

 **"There are coins under there."** He said simply.

 **"Coins?"** She raised an eyebrow, glancing towards the water and then back at her friend.

Oddball slowly blinked one eye and then the other, as if his brain was trying very hard to process something.

 **"...Coins."** He confirmed.

 **"Okay then!"** Thea said, quickly setting him back down beside the water. He promptly splashed his head back into the water and stayed there.

Thea made her way back over to her trainer and sat beside him again. She sighed happily, glad to be near him again. She couldn't really describe it, but she could have sworn she felt drawn more towards him today than she had been yesterday. The feeling was surely pleasant, but there was a hint of strangeness to it, like it wasn't all hers. She couldn't explain it to herself, and certainly not to John.

"What's up?" He asked, looking over at her as he chewed on a piece of grass.

 _"Just looking forward to today I guess. I've never seen the forest before."_

"Me neither. It's supposed to be filled with bug Pokemon. Maybe we can find a battle there."

 _"I bet some interesting trainers hang out in the forest. You should probably let someone else take point if we find a fight, I don't really feel like I'm ready for a battle yet."_

John nodded in agreement, glancing over at Earl. The Phanpy had fallen asleep on his back in the grass. His mouth was open wide as he snored loudly.

Thea leaned back and looked at the sky. It looked like things had begun to cloud over as the sun was slowly covered by a nearby cloud. With the sun's heat gone, her thoughts began to wander. For some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about dancing. It was strange. There was no reason for her to be thinking about something like this during this point in time. Such an arbitrary concept shouldn't have dominated her mind, and yet it did. Thea had never really danced with anyone before. As a Kirlia, she had moved like a dancer by instinct, twirling around and showing off, but she'd never danced with a partner.

She felt an irresistible pull to the actual action itself. The grace, the beauty of it. Slowly moving, holding someone else in her arms, being able to take in all their subtle little movements as the two of them would sway back and forth. Being so close to someone. She felt like she wanted that more than anything. Slowly, a picture began to form in her head. It wasn't intricately detailed, but it was exquisite nonetheless. Like a watercolor painting. The image of a Gardevoir and a human linking hands, moving together in harmony. Each trusting the other to hold them up.

"Uh, Thea?"

 _"Hm?"_

She slowly turned her head to look at John, who was looking back at her sheepishly. He had a faint blush on his cheeks. Her eyes moved down to her hand, which was sitting directly on top of his.

Thea shot back like she had just touched hot coals.

 _"S-sorry!"_ She exclaimed, incredibly flustered.

"No it's fine!" John chuckled as he looked away from her awkwardly, "You looked like you were kinda spacing out so I just-"

 _"Right, yeah. I was-"_ Thea cut herself off as she realized how odd her mind had been acting. She raised her hand in front of her and pointed at it with the other.

 _"My hand just kinda moved on it's own!"_

John decided that humor was the best way to defuse this situation

"I hate it when that happens!"

The pair shared a short bout of awkward nervous laughter. It was soon followed by a rather lengthy silence.

Suddenly, John stood up.

"Let's go do something." He said firmly, offering a hand to Thea, who was still sitting.

 _"Do what, exactly?"_ She asked as she let him help her up.

"I dunno." He replied, "Let's see the sights a little before we head for the forest. We've got the time."

 _"That sounds nice, actually."_ Thea affirmed.

"Phanpy!" Earl said, quickly waking up and trotting over to them.

Oddball offered a thumbs up with one of his wings from the lakeside, head still submerged in the water.

The team spent the next hour taking in the sights around Petalburg City. The sun may have gone away, but the city itself remained just as beautiful as it had been the previous day. They soon found themselves in a cozy little clothing store, and they all got to work looking at various little trinkets and trying on the odd piece of clothing.

Thea came around around the corner of an isle covered in T-shirts to face John.

 _"What do you think?"_

She was wearing a stylish white sunhat with a green flower on the side, holding onto it with one hand. John blushed slightly upon seeing her. He had yet to adjust to how great she was capable of looking.

"That looks awesome." He replied, giving her a timid thumbs up.

Happy from the praise, she gave a playful bounce that made the front of her hat flop up and down. As Thea spun in a circle and admired herself in a nearby mirror, John walked over to a nearby shelf and started browsing the wares.

The group was out of the shop in a short while. Both John and Thea were adorned with new hats, Earl munched on a chocolate, and ten minutes later john realized that Oddball had some sort of shiny locket in his mouth that he was ninety percent sure he had not paid for.

By mid-afternoon, they were in front of the entrance to Petalburg Woods.

"Okay guys," John steeled his gaze, "We just need to get through here and we'll pretty much be at Rustboro City. That's where our next big showdown will be."

All three of his Pokemon gave a short but excited cheer, and they entered the forest.

Even if it had been bright and sunny out, it still would not have been bright within the forest. This was much unlike the foliage that was closer to the city. Here, the trees were so thick that they mostly blocked out the sun, save a few precious rays that streaked through the air every so often. The forest was alive with sound, and no matter where they were they could constantly hear the chittering of various bug Pokemon hiding in the branches that threatened to engulf the party.

 _"Keep an eye out."_ Thea cautioned as she glanced around, _"I can sense Pokemon everywhere in here. I won't be able to predict if some wild ones decided to spring a trap on us."_

"Good to know, thanks." John replied. He appreciated the concern, but he personally wasn't very worried about the situation himself. He was confident that any bug Pokemon that tried to attack him would prove no match for his own members.

And so John strode along through the forest with optimistic strides, with Thea and the rest of his team in tow. Oddball flitted from branch to branch, pausing on each one to glace around sporadically before moving on to the next. Meanwhile Earl simply plowed his way through any debris that was in his way with one of his shoulders.

The trainer inhaled, taking in the Forest's earthy scent. Strangely, he swore he could smell a hint of-

 _"John, look out!"_

He was thrown off his feet and crashed to the ground roughly as his Gardevoir called out to him, interrupting his thoughts. His eyes shot up to see a group of three Dustox flying by him. The large moth-like Pokemon soared through the air menacingly, leaving purple trails behind them that John was immediately sure was poison of some kind. He was thankful he had managed to dodge it, though he suspected he'd had a little help in that department.

"Did you just throw me!?" He shouted, quickly getting to his feet, only letting his eyes move to Thea for a second before locking back onto their foes. He noticed the Dustox flee into the trees, but he knew they would return for another hit-and-run attack.

 _"It's not like I had many options!"_ She huffed at him as she moved in front of him and took up a fighting stance, casting off her new hat in preparation. Her eyes came to life with an intimidating blue glow.

"It's fine." He said quickly, "We need to practice more with your powers. You threw me like ten feet!"

 _"Right, sorry."_ She muttered a little sheepishly, _"I don't really know my own strength yet, I guess."_

"Speaking of which-" John started quickly, "-We should actually probably let Oddball handle this one. You might actually end up hurting one of these Dustox, Thea."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but seemed to think better of it after a little consideration. Her eyes faded back to normal as she stepped aside.

 _"You're right. I guess that was kinda my idea, after all."_

He gave her a thankful nod before pointing at Oddball, who was sitting on a branch above them, seeming slightly bored with the whole situation.

"Oddball, I choose you!"

The bird Pokemon turned it's head to John before leaping off the branch, hovering in the air beside him.

John knew that Thea's newfound power made her unreliable and unpredictable. Oddball hadn't changed in the slightest, and being a flying-type Pokemon, had a distinct advantage over their new bug-type foes. The Pidove was actually the soundest choice for the battle to come.

As if on cue, the trio of Dustox came silently gliding out of the trees, ready to attempt another poisonous bombing run on John's party. But this time, he was ready for them.

"Use quick attack!"

Oddball flew forward at maximum speed towards his enemies, talons outstretched. He clipped one of their wings on the way by, and it sent the Pokemon spiraling out of the air, trailing poisonous dust like a fighter plane that had just been shot down in a dogfight. It made a whistling sound as it plummeted until it collided with the trunk of a nearby tree. John's Pokemon circled around as the Dustox fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Nice!" The trainer exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air once.

 _"You got one!"_ Thea smiled as she picked her hat up and placed it back on her head.

 **"You did good, kid."** Earl said as he nodded approvingly, **"You did real good."**

Oddball hovered in the air, giving Earl a blank, wide-eyed stair as a single tear rolled down his face. The Dustox, outraged at the loss of their comrade, quickly turned on Oddball and began to fire gusts of wind at him with their wings.

"Evasive maneuvers!" John yelled, as Oddball began to fly erratically in an attempt to dodge the incoming attacks. A few blows seemed to glance off him, but he made it through with only minor damage.

With their barrage finished, the two remaining Dustox hissed at them and flew back into the trees.

 _"They'll be back with another attack!"_ Thea exclaimed, _"We need to go after them!"_

"Oddball, chase those guys down!" John exclaimed, as he and his Pokemon all took after their foes. The pigeon-like Pokemon was faster than his foes, and managed to gain on them quickly. The battle became a chase, and it wasn't long before the whole group was running through the forest behind Oddball.

"There's one!" John exclaimed as the unluckier of their enemies fell within striking distance, "Use air cutter!"

He complied, spinning once in the air to throw a gust of razor-like wind forward from his wings. The attack struck its mark, sending another Dustox tumbling to the earth below.

 _"Use quick attack before it can react! Finish it Oddball!"_

John gaped in surprise as Thea called out, pointing at their final enemy. Oddball complied with the command, quickly striking the enemy several times quickly, leaving it upside down in a nearby tree, defeated.

"...Dust... ox." It groaned, eyes spinning in circles.

John quickly looked over at Thea. The Gardevoir was smiling happily, looking excited, with both hands balled into fists in front of her.

 _"Nice work!"_ She said, closing her eyes and flashing a smile at Oddball. The bird Pokemon gave a happy squawk in return.

John blinked twice.

"Thea, did you just..."

Her expression broke instantly as the realization of what she had done hit her. Her eyes shot wide open as her smile dissipated.

 _"Oh no- I'm not supposed to- I wasn't-"_ She stuttered unsure of what to say.

"I've never heard of a Pokemon commanding another Pokemon before." John said thoughtfully, "I'm pretty surprised that he listened to you, honestly."

 _"Wait... you aren't mad?"_ She asked, looking at him with a confused gaze.

"Why would I be mad?" He replied, shooting her an equally confused look.

Thea thought for a second. She still couldn't help but feel like she had crossed some sort of line.

"Wait a minute." John suddenly said.

 _"What is it?"_

"Did you just... talk to Oddball telepathically?"

Both their faces lit up at once.

 _"I did!"_ She exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"You did!" John said, applauding and laughing happily.

Thea spoke quickly, eyes darting around in excitement.

 _"Do you think it only works with people on our team? Or maybe I can just talk to everyone now? That would be so crazy! I can't wait to try this out!"_

Earl slowly shouldered out of some nearby trees and sat down, panting. He wasn't nearly as fast as the rest of his team, and he had fallen behind during the chase.

Thea struck a pose and pointed at him with an outstretched finger. She released a faux cartoon-esque evil villain laugh out loud.

 **"Mwahahaha!"**

 _"Earl! I am inside your mind! You must submit to me! Answer to my every whim!"  
_

The Phanpy looked back at her, mostly unimpressed.

 **"Get out of my head, Thea."** He responded dryly.

 _"Well you're no fun."_ She said, pouting.

"I'm assuming it works on everyone in our group now, right?" John asked.

She turned around to face him, and she couldn't have looked more proud of herself.

 _"Seems that way. We'll have to wait until we see another person before I'll be able to test if it works on anyone else."_

"I'm looking forward to it. We should be out of the forest pretty-"

The trainer stopped himself mid sentence as his face took on a look of panic.

 _"John, what's wrong?"_ Thea asked, noticing the change in his expression.

"Hey Thea," He started as his eyes darted around the area, "Do you know where we are?"

Now it was Thea's turn to glance around at her surroundings. She became more and more worried as she realized that she couldn't tell one tree from the other.

 _"We're lost."_ She sighed.

"...Seems that way."

This left the group in a predicament. The area known as Petalburg Woods was very large, and while John had a pretty good idea of how to get through the forest, the chase had led them far off course, and they had completely lost their way.

"Oddball, can you fly above the trees and try to figure out where we are?" John asked, looking at his Pokemon hopefully. The bird complied, taking flight with a chirp as it flew up and out of sight.

He heard Thea's voice within his head as she plodded along behind him.

 _"That's a decent Idea, but I don't know how useful he'll really be. I mean, Oddball is, well, Oddball, after all."_

"Can't hurt to try." John replied, stepping over a fallen tree.

The forest had gotten darker. The sparse beams on sunlight that had previously sliced through the leaves overhead were all but gone now. John guess that they had less than an hour before it was completely dark within the forest. If worse came to worse, he and his crew could sleep in the forest, but it would definitely be preferable to get out before it became too dark to see.

John stopped as he heard Earl snorting behind him.

"What is it?" He asked.

 **"I smell something weird."** He said as the Thea translated the words to John. He was using his long snout to smell the air around him.

 _"I don't smell anything."_ Thea said, after giving the air a short sniff. She continued playfully, _"But with a nose like yours, I'm sure you pick up all kinds of weird stuff."_

 **"This is different."** He assured them, **"It's too sweet. Doesn't smell natural. There's something in this forest that shouldn't be here."**

John gave his Pokemon a concerned look. He knew to trust their instincts.

"Should we be worried?"

 **"I wouldn't go that far."** He replied, **"But we should stay alert. You never really know, right?"**

"Sure." John said with a nod.

The team pressed on, unsure if they were actually making any headway or not. Everything looked the same. Sometimes it seemed like they were making progress, only to realize that they had simply gone in a circle.

Suddenly, Oddball came fluttering down through the foliage, chirping excitedly.

 _"He says there's a clearing a little ways ahead."_ Thea said happily, as he perched on one of her outstretched arms.

She leaned in as he squawked a few more times.

 _"He says that there's someone there."_

"That's great news." The trainer said as he walked over and patted the Pidove on the head, "They probably know the way out of this place!"

John and his Pokemon quickened their pace, eager to find some way out of the forest. Oddball was perched on Thea's shoulder as they moved.

 **"The scent is getting stronger."** Earl cautioned, **"Whatever it is, it's probably in that clearing. Maybe we should-"**

The Pokemon was cut off as he caught one of his feet in a burrow. He fell to the ground, letting out a small cry of pain. The others immediately stopped and rushed to his side.

"Earl, are you okay?" John asked, voice full of concern.

 **"My leg's twisted."** He groaned in response, **"Put me back in the ball. I'm done walking for today. Wake me up when we're out of this stupid forest."**

John gave a short chuckle. Earl's attitude never seemed to change. He was glad that his Pokemon was fine.

"Sure thing buddy. Next stop is Rustboro City for you, then."

 **"I'm looking forward to it."**

With that, John took one of the Pokeballs off his belt and activated it. A bold of red energy lurched out and connected to the Phanpy, recalling him to the ball.

"Okay guys, let's keep going. There's really no need to run, the clearing probably isn't too much further ahead. Let's try not to get anybody else hurt, okay?"

 _"Sounds like a plan."  
_

"Pidove!"

They made slower progress after that, but none of the trio really minded. The sun was gone. Every so often the group would see a beam of moonlight cutting through the dark in front of them, but it was mostly very hard to find their way without tripping over anything. It would have been a clear and bright night if not for all the trees.

Oddball chirped quietly.

 _"He says we're nearly there."_

"Good."

 _"Hey John, I was thinking we should play it safe here."_

"What do you mean?"

 _"Something about what Earl said freaked me out. The whole 'something shouldn't be here' thing is kinda making me nervous. Plus, I can't shake this weird feeling like something isn't right."_

"Okay, if that's what you think we should do. We'll scope out the clearing before we go talk to whoever is there. You're the psychic, after all."

Suddenly, they broke through the trees and found themselves at the edge of a large clearing, just as predicted.

Panicking, they quickly leapt into a nearby bush, hiding within it's leaves. Peaking out, the three of them observed their surroundings.

The clearing was a large, circular open area surrounded by trees on all sides. The ground was mostly flat, covered in grass. The area was very well illuminated for how late it was at night. The nearly full moon overhead radiated downwards, coating everything in a pale white glow. The air was still.

What caught the group's attention was the structure near the clearing's center. Someone had set up a gray tent. It was nothing fancy, probably only big enough for one or two people, but there was clearly someone inside it. They could faintly hear them rummaging around inside.

 _"There's somebody in there."_ Thea said, _"Let's wait for them to come out before we make any moves."_

John gave a quick nod of agreement, thankful that his partner's telepathic method of speech allowed them to have conversations in complete silence when needed.

The rummaging stopped, and within a few seconds a man emerged from the tent. He was clearly far too big for the tent, as he stretched and let out a sigh of comfort. He quickly looked around the clearing as he ran a hand through his black hair. It was as if he was looking for someone.

 _"Who is-"_

Thea was cut off as he pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket and placed them on his nose.

"Duncan!" John whispered out loud in surprise.

 _"What's he doing here?"_ Thea asked, quite confused.

Her trainer shrugged. It didn't make any sense for him to be here. It'd already been a while since he'd seen his rival, but John had expected it to be a lot longer before he would see Duncan again. He could see that the man still had his usual smile on his face. He sat on a rock that was near his tent and examined his fingernails, whistling to himself. Thea noted that it was unusual to see him without his companion.

 _"Why don't we head over there and-"_

Thea was cut off once again as a familiar Gardevoir materialized in front of Duncan, hanging in the air before him. Her dress flowed out elegantly around her as she regarded him. Thea moved back slightly as she felt the power radiating from her. It flowed from Elysium's body like water, washing over everything in the area. She hadn't sensed this before. Had her senses been too weak before her evolution to detect the true gap in their powers? It seemed like so much psychic energy shouldn't be capable of being bottled into a body of her size.

Thea shivered.

Elysium approached Duncan gracefully through the air, who stood up as she got near him. Their observers noticed that she was levitating several berries and fruits in the air around her. It was likely that she had been busy picking them, leaving her trainer to set up the tent in her absence.

He took a fruit out of the air and bit into it. Nodding appreciatively, he reached out and patted her on the head with his free hand. The action seemed to annoy Elysium more than anything else. She quickly levitated her findings into a pile beside the tent before focusing on her trainer, who was still petting her head with a dumb smile on his face.

 _"Looks like they haven't changed much."_ Thea said, smiling warmly to herself.

John nodded back.

 _"Should we keep watching them?"_ She asked as she covered her mouth with one hand, _"It's kinda fun."_

John gave her a sly little smile and nodded in agreement.

Turning back to the duo they had decided to spy on, Thea observed that they were now in conversation. Duncan's hand was still on his Gardevoir's head as the two stared at one another, with Duncan occasionally making a hand gesture or laughing out loud.

 _"They're speaking telepathically. Shame we can't hear them."_

Suddenly, Elysium moved quickly, grabbing her trainer's arm off her head with one hand and pulling him close to her.

 _"What is she-"_

Duncan reacted with mild surprise, but didn't seem to have any complaints about being pulled around by his Pokemon. She dropped her levitation, allowing herself to float down to the earth and stand as anyone else would. The height difference was quite noticeable.

Neither John nor Thea knew what to make of this situation.

Looking up at him, Elysium guided his hand to the small of her back, where she released him. He pulled her slightly closer to him as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

 _"Are they..."_

Duncan took another bite of his meal before tossing it over his shoulder and intertwining his freshly freed hand with that of his Pokemon.

Then the pair began to move.

"They're... dancing?" John whispered to himself.

Thea was at a loss for words. This was what she had seen this morning when she'd been lost in thought. Had she been seeing them?

The dance was slow, at least at first. There was no music, at least none that the observers could hear. The pair simply held each other, swaying back and forth, taking a step every so often. They were bathed in pale moonlight just like the area around them, giving the scene an almost dreamlike look.

However, it didn't stay slow for long. What had begun as a simple two-step began to heat up in sense, taking on a more swing-like nature. The two released each other's bodies and linked hands, moving back and forth in a quicker fashion as if the nonexistent tempo of whatever they were dancing to had suddenly increased.

Duncan pulled her close again, twirling her in a circle as she let out a quiet laugh. They broke apart as Elysium raised her arms into the air, and several small pink orbs appeared at the tips of each of her fingers.

 _"Moonblasts!" Thea exclaimed._

The Gardevoir struck a pose, sending the spheres out in all directions where they hung in the air, giving the clearing a distinct pink hue.

Duncan laughed and clapped. His partner gave a smug curtsy in response.

From here the dance took on a far different tone. It was unprofessional, refusing to fit into a particular style on it's own. In fact, in Duncan's case it was even a little sloppy.

Neither of them seemed to care about this fact very much. They twirled around, bathed in pink light. It was as if the world outside this clearing no longer existed.

To call that the two halves participating in this dance equals would have been a boldfaced lie. Now that the two had abandoned a traditional style of dance, Duncan was mostly playing support to Elysium's masterful performance. Everything, from the movements of her hips, to every individual step, to the subtle turns painted a captivating image that left the onlookers speechless.

Duncan tried his best to keep up, but he was beginning to show that he was tiring. Elysium seemed to notice this and released him, turning up her nose and walking away from him. She seemed to exaggerate the sway of her hips as she left as a means of taunting him. She gave a sarcastic little huff as she went.

His face took on a more determined look, and he chased after her.

He grabbed onto her shoulder, spinning her around to face him. Her expression barely changed, but the dance completely transformed. It became a sort of competition, with each one of them trying to outdo the other. Elysium's elegant movements against Duncan's stubborn unwillingness to be beaten.

It wasn't long before both of them were breathing hard.

Neither John nor Thea had even the slightest idea what was going on.

The two embraced one more time. They began spinning around and around the clearing until Elysium fell backwards, allowing Duncan to catch her before she hit the ground. They ended their dance in a classic "dip" pose.

As if on cue, the moonblasts faded, returning the clearing to its usual moonlit atmosphere. The dancers stood back up, facing each other. Both of them were panting, staring into each other's eyes.

 _"...I have got to get her to teach me some of those moves."_ Thea said incredulously.

"Mmhm." John agreed under his breath.

John and Thea prepared to stand up from the bush, ready to greet their friends and rivals.

Then the strangest thing happened.

Thea watched as the Gardevoir reached up and wrapped her arms around the back of her trainer's neck, pulling his head down so he was at her height.

Closing her eyes, Elysium leaned forward and pressed her lips onto Duncan's. He didn't seem overly surprised by the act and responded in kind. It was a passionate kiss, more affectionate than lustful.

For the first time in Thea's life, she could sense the emotions of both Duncan and Elysium. There was no nervous or anxious feelings coming from either of them. Not a hint of discomfort or anything resembling apprehensiveness. What she was able to sense, however, was an overwhelming feeling of comfort and security. Happiness. A sense that the two of them trusted one another. She'd never felt emotions this raw coming from anyone before. Thea might not have had any any experience in this department, but she was sure of one thing.

This was absolutely not a first kiss.

Her face reddened as she glanced at John. His eyes were glued to the couple.

 _"John..."_ She started, unsure of what they should do now.

He looked at her and she could instantly tell that he was just as unsure as she was.

 _"Maybe we should just go."_ She said, _"Privacy, right?"_

Her trainer mulled this over for a second before nodding in agreement. He knew that their rivals were close, but he'd never imagined this. He needed some time to process this. Perhaps he could find Duncan and Elysium tomorrow and talk to them about it if they were still in the forest.

The two of them turned to leave as John's shoe landed atop a thick twig. It instantly snapped in half with a loud cracking sound.

John smelled perfume.

Before either of them could react, something completely blew apart the bush they had been hiding in, leaving them totally exposed and on their backs.

John had closed his eyes when the blast happened, and when he opened them he was greeted by the sight of Elysium hovering over them. She was floating a foot off the ground with her arms clasped respectfully behind her back. Her gaze was narrowed into a glare that sent chills down his spine. Her mouth was a small frown, and her eyes blazed with psychic energy that made the hair on his arms stand on end.

When she spoke, each word seemed to drip with venom.

 _"John, Thea. It's splendid to see the two of you again."_


	7. Chapter 7

_"I must say,"_ Elysium said in the same menacing tone, _"This is quite a surprising turn of events. I didn't expect to see either of you here."_

John glanced quickly to Thea, who was looking up at Elysium in fear. Her jaw was set, and her eyes were open wide. The incident with the Gallade from the last time they had seen their rivals was now very fresh on their minds.

 _"The two of you truly have some nerve."_

Elysium's eyes burned with blue energy as she gazed at the two of them. If he looked closely, John swore he could see faint trails of a blueish smoke wafting off them and into the air. He had never seen a psychic Pokemon have this happen before when they activated their powers. There was some deep instinctual feeling that rocked him with when he looked into her eyes. A feeling of inferiority.

He looked down at the ground quickly. The trainer's heartbeat quickened as he noticed small dirt particles lifting off the ground and hovering in the air. There was a good chance that Elysium was doing this passively just by having her powers activated.

 _"I mean honestly, did no one ever tell the you two that it's rude to peep?"_

Now it was Thea's turn to glance at John. The two of them had no idea what was going to happen to them.

"Elysium! What are you doing over there?" Duncan's voice rang through the clearing behind his partner.

 _"You should probably come see for yourself."_ Elysium responded, her gaze not moving in the slightest.

They heard his footsteps approaching.

"If it's a wild Pokemon, just throw it back into the forest. It's not worth ruining our night-"

Duncan cut himself off mid-sentence as he got close enough to see the two of them on the ground. His hair was slightly unkempt, and he wore a thin black jacket over a dark green shirt.

"...What." He said simply, giving the two of them a blank, confused stare. He turned his head to look at Elysium.

"What are they doing here?" He asked.

She blinked twice.

 _"What- Why would I know that?"_ She responded, giving him an equally blank look.

"...Because you're... psychic?" He asked, giving a small smile.

She sighed and shook her head.

 _"Why don't you ask them, Duncan? They haven't said a single word since I found them here."_

Agreeing, he turned to them.

"First of all, get up off the ground you guys. Jeez."

Obliging him, Thea and John got to their feet. He gave the two of them a warm smile and then looked at his Pokemon. She was still hovering in the air, psychic powers activated.

"And Elysium, could you take it down a notch please? You're scaring the crap out of them."

She let out a sigh and quickly returned to normal. She floated a few inches closer to him and regarded the two of them with an uneasy gaze.

"What the heck are you guys doing here?" Duncan asked, "I thought you were going through the tunnels to Rustboro."

"We-" John's started, but the words caught in his throat.

Clearing it, he tried again.

"The tunnel was caved in. We had to take the long way around."

"That's a shame." Duncan responded in his usual jovial tone.

There was a short uneasy lull in the conversation.

"But hey!" He started again, "You guys were probably just like right behind us! How weird is that?"

 _"What does he mean?"_ Thea asked John. He was just as confused as she was.

"Where are you two going?" John asked.

 _"Home."_ Elysium responded simply.

"We live in Rustboro. Didn't we say that when we saw you guys in Verdanturf?" Duncan raised an eyebrow.

"Right. You might've, but-"

"Enough about us!" Duncan exclaimed as he took a step towards Thea, "Look at you!"

Thea's eyes widened as the trainer drew closer to her.

"You look fantastic!" He quickly moved in a circle around her, examining her from all angles.

 _"...Thanks."_ She responded.

"You're welcome." He responded, offering her a knowing wink.

John immediately looked to Thea in surprise.

"And it looks like you've gained the ability to speak to other humans too!" Duncan exclaimed.

 _"R-Really?!"_ She exclaimed, just as surprised as John _._

"Don't get too excited. It's possible that it's easier for you to talk to me since I'm used to talking to Elysium. You probably still can't talk to normal people. " He tapped the side of his head and then glanced back at his Pokemon.

She was staring at him with a look that couldn't possibly have been more exasperated.

 _"Duncan."_ She said simply.

"What's up?" He asked, turning around to face her.

 _"I'm happy for Thea as well, but you need to stop avoiding the Donphan in the room."_

He shot her a confused look.

"I'm not sure what you mean." He responded.

 _"They saw us."_

"They-"

Duncan's expression instantly changed. His smile became plastic and forced as his stare hardened. He took a couple steps closer to Elysium and looked at the two of them with an expression that neither of them could decipher.

"Oh." He quickly looked at the ground and then back at them, "Huh. I did not realize that."

There was a long and awkward pause. A slight breeze blew past them, and John shivered. His T-shirt wasn't sufficient clothing for this time of night. The jacket in his backpack wasn't obtainable in a situation like this. He found himself questioning Duncan. Did he really have no idea that they had been watching them, or was it possible that he had simply been playing dumb to avoid their current situation? Regardless, it didn't seem to matter now.

 _"We're really sorry for spying on you guys! It was my idea."_ Thea said suddenly, catching everyone else off guard. She bowed her head in shame.

"Well I okayed it, so it's my fault too!" John exclaimed as he bowed his head as well, "We shouldn't have done what we did. We weren't considering your privacy."

Both Duncan and Elysium looked at the pair with confusion. Duncan burst into laughter suddenly as Elysium covered her mouth with one hand to stifle a giggle.

"You're-" Duncan exclaimed as his chuckles cut him off briefly, "You're apologizing?"

"...Yes?" John responded uncertainly.

 _"It seems my hostility may have been somewhat unwarranted."_ Elysium responded.

 _"I don't understand."_ Thea said, _"You two aren't mad at us?"_

"I'm confused too. What's so funny?" John added.

Duncan looked at Elysium, who gave him a tender little smile and a nod.

"It's refreshing, I guess you could say." He said, "Having someone give us a somewhat normal reaction."

 _"Normally the people who see us are the ones who are angry."_ Elysium added.

"Why's that?" John asked.

"Well as the two of you have probably concluded, me and Elysium are, well-" He made a hand gesture between himself and his Pokemon quickly, "We're... us."

John nodded in response, though his mind was not made up about this at all.

"I mean you're a kid, John." Duncan continued, "You're pretty mature for your age, but still. The whole stigma hasn't really been ingrained in your head very well yet. And honestly I'm pretty thankful for that."

"I'm not sure I understand." John responded, glancing quickly at Elysium.

"Look, the whole 'people and Pokemon' thing isn't really widely accepted by the public, you could say." Duncan said, his tone growing a little cold.

 _"Duncan is understating things."_ Elysium interjected, _"We have to keep our relationship a secret to nearly all humans and Pokemon alike because of how they react."_

"Yeah, she's right." Her trainer said with a sigh.

 _"...That's terrible."_ Thea said sadly, _"I could sense your emotions when the two of you..."_

She trailed off briefly, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. She quickly shook her head and focused on them again.

 _"Look, what I'm trying to say is that you two really seem to care about each other. I can see that."_

Elysium's eyes widened at Thea's words. John guessed that she was surprised that Thea had managed to pull anything from her head at all, although it could have been what she was saying as well.

"Well... thank you, Thea. Seriously." Duncan replied earnestly. He seemed a little taken aback.

 _"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about the two of us."_ Elysium added, reacting the same way as her partner.

John scratched the back of his head.

"I can't read minds or sense emotions or anything." He started, "But I trust Thea, and I feel the same."

There was another short silence. Duncan and Elysium seemed to be at a loss for words.

 _"We're thankful for your acceptance."_ Elysium eventually said, _"It's just incredibly unusual for someone to react to us this way. You'll have to forgive us for being taken a little off guard."_

"It's fine." John responded as he looked at Thea, "We get it. I think."

"This is great!" Duncan exclaimed, "I mean if it hadn't been you guys who found us out just now, we'd probably have to kill you!"

The man burst into laughter as Elysium angrily smacked his chest with one of her hands.

"Ouch! Okay, okay. I'm just kidding." He wiped a tear from his eye as both John and Thea chuckled very nervously, "I mean I'm probably kidding."

 _"He is."_ Elysium confirmed as she shot a glare at her partner, sounding a little less than impressed with his comedy.

"So are you guys planning to stay in the forest overnight?" Duncan asked as he leaned around to look at John's backpack, "It doesn't really look like you're set up to camp."

"Yeah, we... kinda actually got lost in the forest by accident." John said, scratching the back of his head.

 _"That actually happens more often than you may think."_ Elysium sympathized, _"It's pretty common for trainers to end up staying the night in this forest on their first journey through. Luckily it's not overly dangerous."_

"Sleeping under a tree can build a little character." Duncan said with a grin, "It's not the end of the world. I've done it more than once."

 _"This is true."_ His companion confirmed.

"But!" He said, "While it's too late to try and make it to the city, luckily for you guys we have a tent. Sadly it's not very big, but I think that if we all squeeze in really tight-"

"No that's fine!" John exclaimed hastily as Thea repeated the words _"No, no please no."_ In his head over and over again.

"Suit yourself." Duncan responded, "But you're missing a once in a lifetime chance to cuddle up to me, just so you know."

 _"We didn't end up making a fire, but we brought the supplies for it. We could make one and chat before we go to sleep, if you'd like."_ Elysium offered.

 _"Sounds great."_ Thea replied.

Using Elysium's telekinesis to create friction, it wasn't long before the four of them were sitting around a warm campfire. Each pair sat across from the other with the fire in the middle. Thea and John were seated a short distance across from each other while Elysium cuddled up to Duncan's arm. The couple seemed to have relaxed almost completely at this point, realizing that displaying a little affection towards each other wouldn't get them in trouble around friends.

Before the conversation could start, a familiar Pidove came flying from the forest.

 _"Oddball!"_ Thea exclaimed happily, _"It's good to see you!"_

The small bird Pokemon fluttered over to John and landed on his shoulder, giving a contented chirp in response.

"Glad you made it back, buddy." John said as he affectionately scratched the top of his Pokemon's head, "Sorry if you got spooked back there."

 _"Is that another member of your team, John?"_ Elysium asked from across the fire. She was eyeing Oddball with curiosity.

"Yeah he is." John responded before he focused again on his Pokemon, "Go say 'hi' to Elysium, she's a friend, don't worry."

The Pidove hesitated for a second before jumping off John's shoulder and hopping across the ground until he was standing in front of her. Then he cocked his head when he looked at her and and let out a single tweet. The Gardevoir let go of her trainer and moved a little closer to him in response.

 **"Hello, little one."** Elysium said out loud as she offered a small smile.

Oddball chirped back excitedly.

 **"Oh, you flatter me!"** The Gardevoir responded with a quiet laugh. Her smile grew a little bigger as she raised one of her hands towards him. **"May I offer you a perch?"**

Oddball quickly hopped onto one of her outstretched fingers and began pruning his feathers, head hidden under one wing.

 **"Quaint."** Elysium concluded, turning to John.

 _"A fine choice of partner, John."_ She said before scratching the bird Pokemon's back with her other hand and smiling warmly down at him.

John nodded at the compliment, happy that Elysium seemed impressed with him. He was about to turn and begin speaking to Thea when he noticed how Duncan was looking at his Pokemon. In a situation like this, he would expect his rival to either be doing the same thing as his partner or to be bored with the situation and looking for something to do. But this was absolutely not the case. Duncan was staring at Elysium, who was too focused on Oddball to notice. His jaw was set, and for the first time in since John had met him, Duncan seemed legitimately sad. John couldn't understand why, it certainly wasn't jealousy or any petty emotion like that, he almost seemed like he was feeling some sort of regret.

Beside him, Thea could sense almost exactly the same thing coming off him. The hurt of remembering one's past.

Eventually, Oddball returned to John and was recalled to his Poke ball. The four of them conversed for a considerable amount of time before the topic of Duncan and Elysium's travels became the topic.

"So what are the two of you doing here, anyways?" John asked, "If you were headed back to Rustboro, why didn't you try and take the tunnels too?"

"We took the long route on purpose." Duncan replied looking at Elysium, "I guess you could call this our vacation."

 _"Vacation?"_ Thea said with confusion, _"Aren't you a Pokemon trainer?"_

"Nope." Duncan responded, "I've been out of the game for years, actually."

 _"It's true."_ Elysium added, _"Duncan and I run a store in Rustboro. We haven't competed in the Pokemon league in a long time."_

"For real?" John asked, incredulous.

"Yep! It's the quiet life for us, man." His rival replied, never dropping the smile from his face.

"But you're so strong!" He exclaimed, "You could easily take on the gym leaders and even the elite four. Why quit?"

"I guess you could say that I found something more important." Duncan said, pulling Elysium a little closer to him. She looked at him with a warm gaze and nuzzled his neck.

Neither John nor Thea knew what to say to that. The idea seemed completely foreign to the two of them.

"What about you guys? How many badges you got now?" The man asked, eyeing the two of them through his glasses.

 _"We've got two at the moment."_ Thea responded, _"We're hoping to get our third in Rustboro. How many did you have when you stopped, Duncan?"_

"Four." Duncan said simply, "We never beat Roxanne."

 _"I see."_

 _"In hindsight, we could probably defeat her now."_ Elysium said with confidence.

"Why do you say that?" Duncan chuckled, "Itching for another fight already?"

 _"Have you guys had any interesting matches_ lately?" Thea inquired, _"We had a run in with quite the character recently, called himself the 'Red Dragon.' He used a shiny Gyarados. The guy was pretty tough but we managed to beat him."_

"Now that you mention it, yeah we actually did." Duncan said, brow furrowing.

"Who was it?" John asked.

"Some weirdo in a purple hood with a Kadabra. We thrashed him, but he said some really strange stuff."

John raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Duncan chuckled to himself, regaining his jovial demeanor.

"Don't worry about it. One crazy guy isn't worth losing sleep over."

John found himself quite curious, but it seemed obvious that Duncan didn't want to pursue this subject any further.

 _"Speaking of losing sleep,"_ Elysium covered her mouth to stifle a yawn, _"The fire is dying, and so is my desire to stay awake. I believe we should continue our conversation tomorrow."_

"Sounds like a plan to me." John agreed.

 _"We have a spare sleeping bag to offer the two of you, if you'd like."_ Elysium offered, _"The notion of the four of us all sleeping in our little tent is a little unrealistic, in my opinion."_

 _"That would be great, thanks."_ The other Gardevoir replied.

When Thea was finished speaking, her rival vanished and reappeared quickly with a white sleeping bag in her hands.

Duncan stood up and stretched as his partner handed the object over, arms high above his head.

"We'll leave the two of you to sort out your own sleeping arrangements." He said with a wink, "After all, what could be better than sleeping out here with nothing but these beautiful stars above your head? You know what I'm saying?"

John laughed as his rival turned to head toward his tent. He was interrupted by Thea tapping on his shoulder.

"What's up?" He asked her as he turned around.

 _"It was generous of those two to lend us a bag, but.."_ She trailed off.

"But what?"

 _"Well, the two of us aren't going to fit in this thing."_

"Really?" John raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the object in her hands. She was right.

 _"Well, I suppose we could, but it would be.. a tight squeeze."_ She said, lowering her gaze as a faint redness crept onto her cheeks.

John found himself blushing as well. This kind of thing was way out of the question in their current relationship.

 _"Look, why don't you just take it?"_

"No way." John shot back.

 _"C'mon. I mean, I can't make my trainer sleep in the grass, right?"_

John was silent for a moment.

 _"I'll just sleep in the ball for tonight. It won't be-"_

"No." John said firmly, cutting her off.

Thea was caught slightly off guard

 _"What do you mean-"_

"I mean no." John said again, "I'm not going to make you do that. I know how much you hate it in there. Earl and Oddball are fine with it, but you're different. I get that."

Thea looked at him with with a wide-eyed stare.

"Besides," He said as he met her gaze, "I wouldn't sleep a wink if I knew you were in there suffering all night."

Thea's eyes managed to widen even more as her lip quivered slightly. It was things like this that were the reason she felt the way she did about John. He really cared about her.

 _"Alright, if that's what you think is best. Thank you."_ She said, nodding quickly and turning to lay the sleeping bag out on the ground.

John smiled as he took his backpack and placed it on the ground near her. Truthfully, he would've rather been the one comfortable under a set of covers, but he felt that Thea deserved it more than he did. He retrieved a spare jacket that was inside his pack and laid it over himself, making the best blanket he could under the circumstances. He laid his head down on his backpack and closed his eyes, attempting to clear his mind so that he could fall asleep quickly.

 _"John?"_ He heard Thea's voice in his thoughts and rolled over to face her. She was completely hidden within the covers, except for her head, which cutely protruded from the sleeping bag. She was looking over with an expression he couldn't quite place.

"What's up?"

 _"Good night."_ She said warmly, smiling at him.

He hesitated, caught off guard by her affection. Clearing his throat, he managed a response.

"Yes. Good night, Thea."

With that out of the way, the two of them closed their eyes and attempted to get some rest.

Meanwhile, Duncan pulled the zipper closed inside the tent and turned to face his partner. The Gardevoir was sitting elegantly at the opposite side of the tent, as it was too small for her to stand in.

"Sure was nice of you to give those two our extra sleeping bag." He said simply.

She blinked her large red eyes at him once, expression unchanging.

"…Is what I would be saying, if we actually had an extra sleeping bag." He groaned, gesturing to the lone green bag laying on the ground beside Elysium.

 _"Come on now, you can't really blame me. They're already sleeping outside, it's the least we can do."_

"You're right, but still." He rubbed his brow for a second and looked at her again, "There's no way we're both going to sleep in this thing."

 _"Oh I don't know about that."_ She responded, _"I think the two of us can most likely… fit."_

"Maybe." He said, "But there's no way we're gonna be able to sleep if we manage to get in there. We'll be too close together. Neither of us will catch a wink all night."

She smiled at him lewdly, lips parted slightly to reveal her perfect teeth. Her tongue flitted out quickly under her incisors, wetting her bottom lip as her eyes turned half-lidded in a lascivious fashion. Duncan felt as though his collar had suddenly tightened around his neck under her stare.

 _"It never occurred to you that I was counting on that?"_

Duncan looked down at the sleeping bag and then back at her. He swallowed.

"Clever girl- "

She was on him before he could finish talking. Though they may not look like it, the physical strength of a Gardevoir is far greater than that of a human, and she had no problem pinning him to the ground. She kissed him hungrily as she straddled him, holding him down by his shoulders. This was nothing like the embrace they'd shared outside. His hands quickly found their place on her back, pulling her close, although it seemed like she wasn't planning on going anywhere.

Eventually she broke away. Panting slightly, she stared at him with the same half-lidded lustful gaze. Her breath was hot on his face. A few strands of her hair slipped from behind her ear and hung downwards towards him.

Duncan grinned up at her, but the blush on his cheeks betrayed his confidence. He was breathing hard too.

 _"It was so rude of them to interrupt us, don't you think?"_

She traced his jawline with a finger. He shivered.

"It's not like they could've known…"

He moved his hands down to her hips absentmindedly. Her gaze flickered down towards his movements before coming back to him.

 _"How about we pick up where we previously left off?"_

Duncan's eyes moved to the wall of the tent for a split second before he focused on her again.

"Are you sure they won't hear us?"

 _"Positive."_

"You aren't very good at being quiet, you know?"

 _"That's amusing, coming from a man who never stops talking."_

"You know what I mean."

She moved her hands to his face, slowly lifting his glasses off and casting them aside.

"Hey!"

 _"You don't need them right now."_

"But, I won't be able to see you."

 _"Oh don't worry."_

She leaned in, nibbling lightly at his neck as she moved her hands to the back of her dress and began to unfasten it. He gasped inadvertently as her teeth made contact.

 _"I'll stay nice and close, darling."_

The next morning, John awoke with a yawn as the early sunlight crept over the side of the clearing and into his eyes. He slowly got to his feet, shrugging off his improvised blanket as he stood. He twisted his limbs as each one of them produced a multitude of cracks and pops. His joints were stiff.

"Not my best sleep, but I guess that's life." He muttered, turning to look at Thea.

The Gardevoir had somehow moved around in her sleep enough that the entire top half of her body was outside her sleeping bag, and her arms were splayed out at her sides. She snored softly, with her mouth open, facing upwards towards the sky. Her blue hair was messy from the night's sleep.

"Well that's just adorable." Duncan said, running a comb through his disheveled black hair as he approached from his tent. He passed John a large berry and a bottle of water as he got closer.

"Yeah…" He said wistfully, "And thanks for the breakfast."

"Don't mention it." His rival replied, "How'd you sleep?"

"About as good as expected." John responded around a sweet mouthful of berry, "What about you?"

 _"He slept like a young human child."_ Elysium interjected as she appeared, eyeing Duncan out of the corner of her eye with a sultry gaze and a knowing smile.

"A baby, Elysium. You mean 'slept like a baby.' That's the expression." The man chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head with one hand. John looked back and forth between the two of them with confusion. The situation at hand was going completely over his head.

 _"What's going on?"_ Thea asked groggily, rubbing her orange eyes with one hand as she got to her feet.

"We're all just kinda waking up." John responded.

 _"Here, have something to eat."_ Elysium said, bringing over some food as she approached.

And so, the group ate and chatted happily as they attempted to blink the sleep from their eyes in preparation for the day's journey. It wasn't long before Duncan and John were busy disassembling the tent while their companions chatted a short distance away.

"So what do you guys say you stay with us while you're in Rustboro?" Duncan asked as he stuffed one of the tent poles into his backpack.

"Really?" John asked, taken a little off guard.

"Absolutely." Duncan affirmed.

"I don't know, I feel like we'd be intruding…" John trailed off, unsure if he wanted to accept this proposal.

"No way, I insist." He replied, "I've spent a lot of nights on those Pokemon center beds, and trust me, they'll kill your back like nothing you've seen before. Besides, this can be our way of thanking you guys for being so kind to us."

"Kind to you?" John asked with a raised eyebrow, "You're the ones who've been going out of your ways to do nice things for us."

Duncan laughed, "That's true, but you know what I mean. It's been a really long time since we've met people we can be honest about our relationship around."

John smiled back at him.

"Okay, we'll do it."

Duncan put his hand on the boy's shoulder, flashing him a wide grin.

"Just wait until you try my cooking. You won't ever want to leave."

The two of them shared another chuckle as Thea and Elysium looked over at them.

 **"Some serious male bonding going on over there."** Thea said, looking smugly over at the two trainers.

 **"It certainly seems that way."** Elysium responded, _"_ **It sounds like the two of you will be staying with us while you're in Rustboro. That should be enjoyable."**

 **"Oh, for real?"** Thea raised her eyebrows, **"Well I'll be looking forward to it, then."**

"Okay, let's ship out!" Duncan called, shrugging his pack over his shoulder and beginning to walk to the edge of the clearing.

 _"Right behind you."_ Elysium smiled, floating after him with Thea treading at her side.

John released Oddball from his Pokeball, watching happily as the Pidove took to the skies. He looked down at his other Pokeball, disappointed that he wouldn't be able to let his other companion enjoy the rest of the trek out of the forest, before putting it away. John quickly fell into step beside Duncan. The newer, bigger party walked like this for a while, chatting as they went along. Eventually Elysium and Thea began to lead the way, with Duncan and John following a short distance behind, with each pair absorbed in a separate conversation.

 **"I gotta ask, how do you do that? Float around, I mean."** Thea said, gesturing to her rival, who looked down at her.

 **"It's quite simple, actually."** Elysium responded, **"All you need to do is imagine that your body is weightless, and apply a slight amount of telekinesis to yourself. Eventually it becomes second nature, like walking."**

 **"You'll have to teach me sometime."** The smiled.

 **"I'd be happy to."**

There was a brief silence as Thea glanced around nervously. She knew what she wanted to ask, but was slightly afraid to present the question.

 **"What is it?"** Elysium asked, a knowing little smile on her face.

Thea groaned. She'd forgotten that hiding anything was nearly impossible around a psychic as powerful as Elysium was.

 **"...I was going to ask if you could possibly teach me a few other things as well."**

Her rival looked back expectantly.

 **"I was hoping you could show me some of your moves."**

Elysium blinked once.

 **"I suppose I could show you a few of my attacks, although at your current power level, I'm not completely sure that you'll be capable-"**

 **"I was talking about your dancing"** Thea said, interrupting her.

 **"I beg your pardon?"** Elysium responded, caught off guard.

 **"I want to-"** She cut herself off as she quickly glanced back to make sure her trainer was out of earshot, **"I'd like to be able to dance with John the way you do with Duncan."**

Elysium looked at Thea with surprise before her expression warmed.

 **"You want me to teach you how to move like I do?"**

Thea's cheeks turned a little red as she looked away, slightly embarrassed.

 **"I'd like that, yes."**

 **"Splendid!"** Elysium said as her smile widened, **"Oh, you and I will have such fun!"**

Behind them, their trainers were not nearly so engrossed in their own conversation. Duncan was acting cheerful, but John sensed he seemed a little tired for some reason, so the two of them walked in near silence with only occasional chats. John wasn't complaining though, he appreciated a bit of serenity every now and then.

Drawing a little closer to the two Gardevoirs, John noticed something he hadn't realized before. He had always thought of different members of the same species of Pokemon and being nearly identical, but he now saw that this was not the case. When Thea and Elysium were side by side, it was easy to see that the two of them were actually quite different, aside from the obvious things like their color schemes. First of all, Thea actually seemed to have a height advantage on Elysium, by about three inches. Thea was likely almost five and a half feet tall, but had her rival not been floating, Elysium would be looking up at her.

Their bodies were also quite different. Thea was thinner than her counterpart, while Elysium seemed to sport a more curvaceous figure. Her hips and rear were more defined, with slightly thicker legs. Thea's form was slender in comparison. Their arms and upper bodies were built similar. The dresses they wore were also nearly identical.

"I haven't seen someone leer like that in a while." Duncan chuckled beside him as John gave a small yelp in surprise.

"I- I wasn't-" He stuttered, face turning red.

Duncan gave a full laugh in response.

"Hey man, don't worry about it-" He took a granola bar out of his pack and bit into it, continuing to speak with his mouth full, "-I don't blame you. I was a teenager once too, y'know?"

He took another bite and leaned in, grinning lewdly.

"Honestly I'm doing the same thing. It's not every day I get a view like this."

 _"Duncan, I can hear everything you're saying and thinking."_ Elysium's voice rang through their minds, but she didn't even turn around to look at the two of them.

"You're mad I'm thinking you're hot? A little out of character for you, I'd say." Duncan responded verbally, seemingly to nobody. His smugness could almost be felt in the air.

There was a slight pause. Duncan stuffed the rest of his snack into his mouth.

John swore he heard a small sigh in his thoughts, but it may have just been the wind.

The four of them walked for a while like this, chatting and laughing with Oddball hovering overhead. Eventually, they reached Rustboro City.

The city was smaller than Mauville, but projected a much more interesting facade. Most of the buildings were designed with old stones, creating a great old-town atmosphere that both Thea and John appreciated. It seemed like a much more welcoming place than Mauville had been, though not as much as Petalburg had been. The west side of the city sported a beautiful ocean beach, and a bustling harbor.

John found himself smiling as they walked through the streets. This place seemed to be busy and exciting, but remained somewhat friendly at the same.

Thea saw a couple Pokemon walking around alongside the humans, but the amount wasn't staggering. She appreciated that the air in this city at least felt clean. The average moods of the other people were decently high as well.

"Well, this is us." Duncan said suddenly.

The two of them stopped and looked to where he was referring to. Before them was a small two-story building, made from old stones like the rest of the buildings in the city. It appeared to be a herb shop, judging from the little green sign with intricate golden lettering. Looking through the large windows on each side of the door, they could see a multitude of plants inside on shelves, with an impressive display of flowers right at the windows, a few of which seemed a little wilted. Overall, this cute little herb store was the definition of the word quaint.

"Come on in!" Duncan exclaimed, pulling a key from his pocket and unlocking the front door.

John looked down at Thea, who smiled back at him. He felt as though in this moment, he couldn't have been happier. He was closer to his Pokemon than he'd ever been before, and he now had two great new friends who no longer felt the need to hide anything from he and Thea. The future seemed bright and full of interesting possibilities.

And so, John walked through the door.

* * *

Hey everyone, it's the author again. Just wanted to apologize for the delay, my schoolwork had been a little crazy lately. Anyways, please take the time to write me a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! I love to hear your feedback.


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